Phytate, reactive oxygen species and colorectal cancer.

Reproducible high-performance liquid chromatography methods have been developed and validated which allow an accurate quantification of phytic acid in faeces and food and reactive oxygen species in an in vitro model system and in faecal specimens. When applied to the evaluation of reactive oxygen species generation by faeces, this method has shown that 1:100 dilutions of matrix obtained from stool samples of adenoma patients are capable of generating significant quantities of reactive oxygen species as evinced by the production of diphenols from salicylic acid. Moreover, it has been shown that the major product of HO. attack on salicylic acid is 2,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid and not 2, 3-dihydroxy benzoic acid as previously reported. In the presence of the antioxidant ascorbic acid the inhibitory capacity of phytic acid on the generation of reactive oxygen species is completely subverted. Therefore, the kinetics of reactive oxygen species production by faeces is currently under further investigation by high-performance liquid chromatography and chemiluminescence in various patient groups and may give an insight into the role of reactive oxygen species in the aetiology of colorectal cancer.