Editor's 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 research arm of the USDA).

Pawpaw bark puts bite on cancer
The pawpaw tree, which grows the largest fruit native to North America, may bear bark for cancer fighting. Purdue University researchers have found compounds in pawpaw bark which show preliminary success in fighting some drug-resistant cancers.

The lab findings have been detailed in Cancer Letters and the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Further animal research is necessary before it can be tested in humans.

Source: Jerry McLaughlin, Purdue University, (765) 494-1455.

High on oleic acid
Through a soybean checkoff project, DuPont Agricultural Products has developed "DuPont High Oleic Soybeans." The variety consistently produces oil with an oleic acid content of 80 percent or more (compared with 24 percent from other commodity oils), and contains less polyunsaturated fat than regular soy oil.

The oil has a nutritional profile similar to high oleic sunflower or canola, but it's also naturally heat stable, according to DuPont. Development is underway to determine the best commercial applications of the new oil.

Source: Illinois Soybean Association, (309) 662-3373.

Brave new proteins enter research world
Sigma Chemical Co. and ProdiGene Inc. have introduced proteins from genetically-engineered plants to Sigma's customers in the research, industrial and pharmaceutical markets.

The recombinant Avidin and B-dlucuronidase proteins, produced in transgenic corn plants, will be used for research chemicals and diagnostics.

ProdiGene, in College Station, Texas, is also working on edible vaccines to treat animal diseases such as gastroenteritis virus and human diseases like Hepatitis B.

Source: John Howard, president and CEO of ProdiGene, College Station, TX.

Gold velvet
Elk velvet, the outer fuzzy layer of skin-like tissue on elk antlers, is worth $50-$70 per pound, depending on quality. That means one pair of velvet antlers is worth $1,000 to $2,200.

Most velvet is pasteurized, dried and shipped to East Asia, where it is commonly used in Pacific Rim "holistic" medicines. About 25 percent is used in North America.

With the high prices and less than 100,000 head of elk in North America, breeding stock sales are strong for elk producers. Because producers are still trying to get elk numbers up, a meat market is at least 10 years away.

Source: The Land; Don Kaplan, Minnesota Elk Breeders Association president, Elysian, MN.

Meat floss

The threadlike texture of cotton candy makes Ohio State University's "meat floss" is a novel pork product. High in protein, low in fat, it keeps for months without refrigeration. The meat floss can be used as a stand-alone snack food, a topping for salads and as an ingredient in soups, cereals and rice dishes.

Inspiration for the meat floss came from Asia, where a similar product is made from ham. The University has adapted the product by making it from pork shoulder, a lower-value cut, and with a less labor-intensive process. Where other dried meat products are tough and chewy, meat floss is light, tender yet crispy.

Source: Herb Ockerman, Ohio State University meat scientist.

Don't trash these cattle beds
Municipal solid waste, or MSW, compost can replace corn stalks or paper bedding in cattle feedlots. Cattle in a University of Minnesota study remained healthy and clean on the compost.

Due to more interest in recycling paper, paper bedding is no longer affordable to feedlot owners. And using MSW compost as bedding leaves corn stalks in the field for needed organic matter. However, the absorbency of MSW compost is about four times less than corn stalks on a weight basis, so more bedding tonnage is required per feeding period.

Once non-compostable waste is sorted out manually and magnetically, MSW composting takes 90 days. The research was done at Prairieland Solid Waste Management, Truman, Minn. and Gilland Feedlot, Inc., Morgan, Minn.

Source: Tom Halbach, University of Minnesota, (612) 625-3135.

Corn on cholesterol duty
Oil extracted from corn fiber may have promise as a cholesterol-lowering agent. The corn fiber oil contains high concentrations of both sitostanol and ferulate, two substances thought to combat cholesterol.

USDA research chemists discovered the new oil and together with the University of Massachusetts, developed and patented a process that yields crude corn fiber oil. A joint effort with Monsanto Co., St. Louis, Mo. will focus on identifying the active components in corn fiber oil and putting the health benefits into food products.

Carolina tofu
New soybean lines under review at the ARS Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Unit in Raleigh, N.C. have the potential to open the tofu market for North Carolina growers. One line yields soybeans three times bigger than the popular variety Pearl, with protein yields just five percent less than conventional varieties.

The Midwest is the current hot spot for tofu, but the Japanese -- who consume 20 million bushels of tofu soybeans annually, mostly from China and the United States -- are interested in diversifying their sources.

Tofu is catching on in the domestic market as well. There are about 100 U.S. tofu processors with combined retail sales of $130 to $150 million.

Source: Thomas Carter, USDA-ARS Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research Laboratory, Raleigh, NC, (919) 856-4598.

Highly reactive Dr. Bean
When Purdue University geneticist Rick Veirling first looked for ways to add value to soybeans, he didn't expect to help doctors diagnose AIDS. But that's where the research led.

Purdue researchers found a way to extract soybean peroxidase from soybean hulls without reducing the value of the soy oil or meal. The soy enzyme is a good substitute for horseradish peroxidase, which is an integral part of medical kits designed to help diagnose a myriad of viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases, including AIDS and malaria.

Soybean peroxidase is highly reactive and thermally stable. Standard kits lose effectiveness in about four months without refrigeration; kits made with soybean peroxidase should last unrefrigerated for at least a year.

Last June, the Indiana Crop Improvement Association, sponsor of the research, licensed the use of soybean peroxidase in medical diagnostic test kits to Enzymol International Inc., Columbus, Ohio, and to American Qualex, San Clemente, Calif.