The Accumulation of Electrolytes Vii. Organic Electrolytes

I t has been suggested that potassium may enter Valonia chiefly as KOH which reacts with an organic acid HA in the sap to form KA, after which A is exchanged for chloride so that potassium accumulates as'KC1. This is not contradicted by any known facts and it is supported by a variety of evidence; inasmuch as this has recently been discussed I it need not be cited here. Other cations may act similarly in this and in other cells. This means that the entrance of cations is accompanied by the formation of organic salts whose presence could be demonstrated if they existed in sufficient quantity. For this reason it seemed desirable to examine the sap of certain plants in which considerable amounts of organic acid could be expected. The plants studied were Rheum rhaponticum, L. (the rhubarb used as a vegetable), Rumex acetosella, L. (field or sheep sorrel), and Oxalis corniculata, L. (wood sorrel) mixed with a small amount of Oxalis filipes, Small. A complete analysis of the plant sap for all ions, including the organic anions, is unfortunately not possible at the present time since to deal quantitatively with complex mixtures of organic anions a very large amount 2 of material must be available. But the analyses here given throw some light on the question at issue.