IP6, otherwise known as phytate -- or more properly myo-inositol hexaphosphate -- occurs in blood, urine and many of your body's fluids. Experiments with phytate, as with many other types of salts, have been performed to determine the effect on various functions, including kidney stones. Some of the research appears promising. No research study or article can replace the advice and treatment of a skilled physician.
Phytate
Phytate is found in the husks of grains, nuts and seeds -- most notably flax seed. Phytate binds to many minerals, including calcium, magnesium and zinc. Its binding affinity for these minerals is what may have led researchers to consider it a possible treatment for kidney stones. Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits, normally calcium and other salts, that form on the inner surfaces of your kidneys. Stones occur when the minerals and other components that form urine are out of balance.
Diet
Research on dietary phytate intake was conducted by a team of researchers at the Laboratory of Renal Lithiasis Research in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. They studied the phytate levels in both the diet and the urine of the test subjects. When the subjects restricted dietary phytate intake, urinary secretion of phytate decreased within 36 hours. This showed the importance of dietary intake, and researchers concluded that IL-6 bonded to calcium and decreased the risk of kidney stones. Their results were published in the "Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology" in June 2000.
Inhibition
Further research at the Laboratory of Renal Lithiasis Research revealed that phytate, or IP-6, would inhibit the formation of renal calculi, or kidney stones. Calcification of renal tissue was induced in rats who were fed a phytate-free diet. Other rats had sufficient phytate in their diet, and the rats consuming phytate showed no kidney deposits and no evidence of calcification. The results of the study were published in "Frontiers of Bioscience" in January 2007.
Results
Researchers from the Department of Urology in the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in the United Kingdom tested the effects of phytate and its ability to bind to calcium in the lab using synthetic urine. Phytate not only decreased the rate at which calcium deposits were formed, but it decreased the size of existing deposits. The results of this study were published in the "Journal of Urology" in June 2007.
References
- "Textbook of Biochemistry With Clinical Correlations"; Thomas M. Devlin; 2010
- "Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology"; Urinary Phytate in Calcium Oxalate Stone Formers and Healthy People -- Dietary Effects on Phytate Excretion; F. Grases, et al.; June 2000
- "Frontiers of Bioscience"; Phytate Acts as an Inhibitor in Formation of Renal Calculi; F. Grases, et al.; January 2007
- "Journal of Urology"; Effects of Inositol Hexaphosphate (Phytate) on Calcium Binding, Calcium Oxalate Crystallization and in Vitro Stone Growth; N.K. Saw, et al.; June 2007
