Die Rolle des Phosphats bei der alkoholischen Gärung höherer Pflanzen

Abstract

The fact that a phosphorylation apparently does not take place in seeds does not prove the non-participation of phosphates in the alcoholic fermentation of higher plants; the apparent absence of phosphorylation may be due to concealment of the process by an opposing phos-phatase. Expts. show that strongly phosphorylating substances show a little phosphatase effect and that the reverse is also true. The increase in the alcohol production of pea flour fermenting in the presence of phosphate is not due to its alkaline reaction; the phosphate has a specific effect upon the fermentation. If hexose-diphosphate is added to the flour or if it is formed in traces during the storage of the flour with phosphate, the methylene blue-reduction is strongly favored in the presence of buffer solns. The discoloration stops soon with NaHCO3, but remains in effect much longer with a phosphate buffer. The methylene blue reduction that takes place in the flour without the participation of hexose-diphosphate is not sensitive to iodo-acetic acid; otherwise, iodo-acetic acid completely stops the reaction.