Bioavailability of oxalate in foods

The ability of 7 "oxalate-rich" foods to enhance urinary oxalate excretion was measured in 8 normal volunteers. The analyzed value for oxalate was high for spinach (1,236 mg.), moderate for chocolate (126 mg.) and tea (66 mg.), and low for vegetable juice, cranberry juice, pecans, and orange juice (2 to 26 mg.). The urinary oxalate increased by 29.3 mg. during eight hours after ingestion of spinach. However, it rose by less than 4.2 mg. from consumption of other food items. The bioavailable oxalate (per cent of total oxalate appearing in urine) was much less from food items of high or moderate oxalate content (spinach and chocolate) than from standard solutions of sodium oxalate (2.4 to 2.6 versus 6.5 to 7.3 per cent). Thus, only spinach among food items tested was capable of causing hyperoxaluria in normal subjects.