Cereal Chem 42:315 - 322.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

Detection of Insect Infestations in Cereals by Measurement of Uric Acid.

S. W. Pixton. Copyright 1965 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The levels of insect populations in food required to produce a measurable quantity of uric acid are discussed. The use of the uric acid content of a sample as an index of infestation or contamination was found not to be satisfactory. The test was not sufficiently sensitive. The high level of insect population generally necessary to produce a measurable quantity of uric acid (2 weeks for four adult Tribolium confusum per g. of food to produce a measurable amount of uric acid) seriously limits the value of the technique. The determination of the uric acid content of a sample would, however, be useful in producing evidence of a past infestation, but would be of no value in an attempt to predict the storage potential.