Elsewhere in ag utilization

By Dan Lemke
CARTOONS ©UNCLE HYGGLY / POUNCE.COM
Editors note: As a service to our readers, we provide news about the work of others in the ag utilization arena. Often, research done elsewhere complements AURI’s work. Please note that ARS is the USDA’s research arm.

Paper, plastic or both?
A Japanese paper company has designed a composite made from used paper and corn starch-based plastic that could be used to make tableware and other plastic goods. The company plans to start manufacturing and marketing pellets of the material, which tests show is stronger and more heat resistant than polypropylene.
Source: Soyatech.com, February 10, 2005


Had your limonoids?
We know citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, but they also offer a lesser-known nutritional bonus called citrus limonoids. The body derives limonoids from citrus fruits and juices. In ARS laboratory tests with animals and human cells, limonoids have been shown to fight cancers of the mouth, skin, lungs, breast, stomach and colon. Researchers are also investigating limonoids capacity to lower cholesterol.
Source: USDA-ARS, February 8, 2005

The tea to exercise
Green tea may soon be giving sports drinks a stamina boost. Researchers from the Japanese healthcare company Kao found that mice fed a green tea extract regularly for 10 weeks increased their exercise endurance by about 24 percent. The extract appears to stimulate muscle’s fatty acid use, reduce carbohydrate use and allow for longer exercise times. Researchers also maintain that the green tea’s effect on fatty-acid uptake, which speeds fat breakdown, helps with weight loss.
Source: Foodnavigator.com, January 31, 2005


Spiked chips
Tortilla chips may not be health food, but scientists may have found a way they can help lower cholesterol. Brandeis University researchers are frying chips in oil spiked with a plant-based ingredient called phytosterols, which can soak up cholesterol without influencing taste. Other sterol-enriched foods, such as margarine and salad dressings, are already on the market. Phytosterols, which can be extracted from plants such as soybeans, have been shown to block the absorption of LDL, the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol.
Source: Soyatech.com, February 2, 2005

Sea-weeding-out cancer
Chowing on kelp may help keep cancer at bay. University of California, Berkley researchers have found that kelp, a brown seaweed, lowers the concentration of the female hormone estradiol in laboratory rats. This evidence suggests that kelp may decrease the risk of estrogen dependent diseases such as breast cancer. The research team began investigating kelp because rates of hormone-dependent cancer are significantly lower in Japan where kelp consumption is high.
Source: University of California, Berkeley, February 2, 2005

A must-see film
A Welsh university has developed a biodegradable food-packaging film for perishable produce. The University of Wales Bangor’s BioComposites Centre developed the film, derived from corn and potato starch blended with vegetable oil molecules to produce a thin gas barrier that functions like plastic films. The film is being tested in Italy on pasta that is kept fresh from the factory.
Source: Soyatech.com, February 11, 2005