The action of sodium alginate in the food on a⁸⁵sr body-burden in mice

The increased excretion of a⁸⁵Sr body-burden from mice, caused by a sodium alginate diet, cannot be explained by the uptake of alginate derivatives in the blood. This statement is supported by three arguments: (1) no alginate derivatives could be detected in the blood; (2) no change was observable in the ultrafiltrability of strontium in the serum; (3) the increase of the 85Sr concentration in the blood was paired with a decrease of the concentration of stable strontium in the blood. The third observation supports the hypothesis that the increased 83Sr concentration in the blood during an alginate diet is due to a shift in the Sr-equilibria between the intestinal lumen, the blood and the skeleton.