article · Food and Bioprocess Technology
Oxalic acid is an abundant organic acid found in many plants, including leafy vegetables such as spinach, rhubarb, and tea. When ingested, it acts as an anti-nutrient by binding with minerals to form soluble or insoluble salts, which impairs the absorption of essential nutrients like calcium. Elevated levels in the bloodstream are linked to serious health conditions, including hyperoxaluria, systemic oxalosis, and kidney stone formation, with soluble oxalates being more readily absorbed and harmful. Multiple factors dictate oxalate concentrations in food, from agricultural conditions to preparation habits. To mitigate these risks, several processing methods can lower oxalate content. Common cooking techniques such as boiling, microwaving, and steaming effectively decrease soluble oxalate levels. Additionally, chemical treatments, fermentation, and emerging biotechnological strategies, such as developing transgenic crops capable of degrading oxalate, offer pathways to improve the nutritional quality and safety of staple vegetables.
Dietary oxalates can interfere with mineral absorption and contribute to painful health issues like kidney stones. Identifying effective ways to reduce oxalate concentrations in common foods, whether through household preparation or crop enhancement, enables consumers to enjoy nutrient-dense vegetables safely while lowering the risk of metabolic and renal disorders.
The findings are relevant to food processors, agricultural biotechnology firms, and commercial kitchens seeking to improve food safety and mineral bioavailability. Applications range from ready-to-use culinary and industrial preparation standards, such as boiling or steaming protocols, to early-stage biotechnological interventions involving transgenic crops engineered to degrade oxalate. While processing methods are readily applicable, the crop modification approaches remain at an early research stage.
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Abstract Oxalic acid is among the most abundant organic acids found in different biospheres, including plants, as an end product of metabolism. It forms either soluble or insoluble salts with monovalent or divalent cations, respectively. Then, consumption of oxalic acid-rich foods in human diets, particularly leafy vegetables (e.g., spinach, tea, and rhubarb), affects minerals absorption such as calcium. Meanwhile, its high level in blood is associated with many diseases such as hyperoxaluria systemic oxalosis and is thus classified among potential anti-nutrients. Various factors have affected oxalic acid levels in foods, including agricultural traits and consumption practices. Hence, the current review aimed at rediscovering oxalic acid dietary sources, metabolism, and the various processes employed to reduce its content in foods, and consequently, health harmful effects. Among them are physical/cooking, chemical, fermentation, and biotechnological processing. Recent biotechnological approaches have been attempted to produce transgenic crops remodeling oxalate metabolism, particularly its degradation. The soluble form of oxalate seems to be better absorbed and more harmful than insoluble salts in foods aiding in kidney stones formation. Cooking (e.g., boiling, microwaving, and steaming) appears as a useful management strategy to reduce soluble oxalate and, therefore, lowering oxaluria. The present review provides new perspectives on different processing methods to lower oxalate in essential vegetables highlighting their advantages or any limitations to aid improve these foods nutritional value and consumption.
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DOI: 10.1007/s11947-024-03726-0
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