Abstract
Summary
Because a yellow color is produced on the addition of the nitrite reagent alone, the colorimetric method of Szent-Györgyi and Straub was found unsuitable for the determination of oxalacetic acid in plant tissue, unless relatively large quantities are present. The manometric method of Ostern proved satisfactory, and though as little as 10 micrograms of added oxalacetic acid per ml of plant sap could be detected by the method, the presence of oxalacetic acid in leguminous plants actively fixing nitrogen could not be demonstrated.
It is suggested that the presence of oxalacetic acid in leguminous plants may be correlated with the phenomenon of nitrogen excretion.
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