ELSEWHERE IN AG UTILIZATION
 

BY DAN LEMKE
CARTOONS © UNCLE HYGGLY / POUNCE.COM
Editor’s note: As a service to our readers, we provide news from around the globe on new uses for agricultural products. Please note that ARS is the research arm of the USDA.

Lipo-fuel
One person’s liposuction is another person’s biodiesel. A Norwegian businessman wants to use suctioned fat for fuel. Biodiesel, now produced from plant oils and animal fat, could also be made from human fat, Lauri Venoy contends. Venoy’s Miami company is negotiating with a hospital to receive 3,000 gallons of liposuctioned human fat a week, enough to produce about 2,600 gallons of biodiesel fuel.

Source: Soyatech.com, December 7, 2006

Berry good news
A berry and grape compound may stall cancer. USDA-ARS scientists found that the compound pterostilbene targets enzymes that activate cytochromes enzymes, which can turn substances such as pesticides or cigarette smoke into cancer-causing agents. The berry compound inhibits cytochrome’s activity, preventing cancer’s growth.

Source: USDA-ARS, November 2, 2006

Watermelon red
Watermelon may be more than a summer picnic favorite — it could fight heart disease and cancer. The fruit’s juicy red flesh is one of the best sources of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in red foods. While tomatoes are known for their lycopene, watermelon contains more per ounce. ARS scientists designed a process to extract lycopene from melon and process it into a powder, paste or liquid to use in nutritional supplements or food coloring.

Source: USDA-ARS, September 15, 2006

Plum spoiled
Texas A&M scientists are investigating dried plum’s potential as a natural preservative in processed meats. Researchers found that pureed dried plums slowed spoiling of ready-to-eat products such as precooked pork sausages, roast beef and ham. The plum’s antioxidant properties helped slow the oxidation process. The ingredient could also enhance the flavor of some meat products.

Source: Foodnavigator.com, November 7, 2006

Not just for vehicles
Consumers who use heating oil now have a cleaner-burning and domestically produced option called Bioheat. Heating fuel is blended with 2 to 20 percent biodiesel, offering lower emissions, less odor and a decrease in noxious emissions.

Source: Biodiesel Bulletin, November 1, 2006

Show Me Biodiesel
Buying a new Dodge Ram Heavy Duty Diesel truck will also get you a free tank of biodiesel. Daimler Chrysler representatives say all new 2007 trucks coming off their Fenton, Missouri assembly line will be filled with a tank full of B5, or 5 percent biodiesel blend. The company also fuels their Jeep Liberty CRD and Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD with the biodiesel blend.

Source: Biodiesel Bulletin, November 1, 2006

Chocolate bars for health
Americans concerned with blood cholesterol may have a new treat to promote heart health — a chocolate snack bar. The CocoaVia bar is enhanced with plant sterols that in studies helped reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol in patients by about 6 percent without impacting “good” HDL levels. The University of California-Davis conducted the research, published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Source: Soyatech.com, November 6, 2006

Wine and chocolate in a bar
What could be bad? Some Australian grape growers are producing chocolates made with grapes and wine. The grower group Cocoa Farm takes sun-ripened grapes that have been infused with a merlot, shiraz or pinot noir wine, and blends them with milk and dark chocolate. Then they add grape-skin extracts and finely-ground grape kernels. The antioxidants in each 100- gram block of Vintage Wine Chocolate equals a glass of red wine.

Source: Coolhealth.com, December 11, 2006

De-mushrooming parasites
A mushroom extract may protect poultry against a major parasitic disease. USDA-ARS and South Korean scientists have developed a technique for controlling coccidiosis, which costs the world’s poultry industry billions annually. Mushroom lectins are given to birds in an injection or drinking water. The lectins protect against the disease in the gut.

Coccidiosis is caused by parasites that infect the intestinal tract and are transmitted between birds through infected feces. Often most severe in young birds or those with weakened immune systems from other infections, the disease can cause bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, substantial weight loss and death.

Source: USDA-ARS December 8, 2006