Myo-inositol content of common foods: development of a high-myo-inositol diet.

Since virtually no information is available concerning the myo-inositol content of dietary constituents, we have measured the amount of this material present in 487 foods by gas-liquid chromatography. We observed that the greatest amounts of myo-inositol were present in fruits, beans, grains, and nuts. Fresh vegetables and fruits were found to contain more myo-inositol than did frozen, canned, or salt-free products. The data provided in this report were used to develop diets that contained varying, but known amounts of myo-inositol. The myo-inositol intake that could be provided by such diets ranged from 225 to 1500 mg/day per 1800 kcal and within this range the agreement between the calculated and measured amounts of this material was excellent (r = 0.98). Since abnormalities in the metabolism of myo-inositol have been speculated to play a role in the pathogenesis of the polyneuropathies associated with diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure, it is possible that the natural history of these neuropahties can be altered by modifying the amount of dietary myo-inositol that is ingested by patients with these diseases.