Effect of Heat Treatment on the Stability of Oxalic Acid in Selected Plant Foods

Vegetables form an essential component of the meal by providing vitamins, minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc and other nutrients important for human health. In most developing countries, vegetables are most reliable source of minerals and vitamins. The vegetables contribution of minerals and vitamins to human nutrition is however limited due to the presence of antinutritional factors that render some of the nutrients unavailable for human nutrition. The most common antinutritional factors in vegetables are oxalic acid, phytic acid and tannic acid. Oxalate is a common constituent of plants, which accumulate higher levels of dicarboxilic acid anion.