Hi all
The chief problem with oxalic acid, in my view, is the effect of oxalic acid ingestion on the internal organs. Oxalic acid can be unknowingly consumed in harmful quantities. There is a case where a woman used it in place of table salt in cooking. The harmful effect is that the oxalic acid forms crystals inside the kidney tubules. 

> It may have a direct corrosive effect on the eyes, skin and digestive tract after contact. However, once absorbed, oxalic acid and other soluble oxalates react with calcium in the plasma to form insoluble calcium oxalate. Calcium oxalate exists in monohydrate and dihydrate forms, which can be distinguished by the shape of the respective crystals. 

> The mechanisms of renal injury include the precipitation of calcium oxalate in the renal system (the proximal tubules of the kidney) causing obstruction, which may lead to local necrosis of the tubular epithelium, energy depletion, cell swelling, calcium influx, intracellular acidosis and enzyme activation

Bhattacharjee, Koushik, et al. "An unusual case of acute kidney injury caused by oxalic acid mistaken for common salt." Journal of Medicine in the Tropics 19.2 (2017): 133.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html