Determination of Phosphorus in Cola Drinks

Laboratory experiments can improve student interest in science. However, the contrary effect could occur if they are not well designed and seem tedious, too laborious, and disconnected from daily life. Cola beverages are one of the most widely consumed drinks and are most popular among students. Much attention is being paid to possible consequences of excessive consumption for human health. Intensive efforts are being made to assess the erosive potential for teeth because of the beverages' acidity (1, 2); adverse effects secondary to high caffeine intake (e.g., hypertension, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal disturbances) (3 - 5); and adverse effects on calcium metabolism due to their high phosphoric acid content, which combined with low dietary calcium intake could increase the risk of suffering from bone diseases (6 - 9).We propose here the quantification of the phosphorus content in this kind of drinks by a different procedure from that previously described by Murphy in this Journal (10). We think this laboratory experiment will seem very interesting to students.See Letter re: theis article.