Center for Crops Utilization Research BulletinSummer 2006
CCUR affiliates lead Grow Iowa Values Fund grants High expectations for 2006 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference in Ames August 28-29 Better bean oil for biolubricants Wilson named University Professor Chinese Ministry of Ag officials visit CCUR Reitmeier describes tastes that please and bother Iowa State scientists use textured soy protein and okara to create foods high in protein, fiber Larock’s bioplastics attract interest from major corporations Hurburgh presents at GEAPS-NCGA Bioterrorism Seminar New wellness center opens at the ISU Research Park Jarboe attends U.S.-Sino Dairy Management Training Center opening ceremony Colletti appointed to College of Agriculture Administration Soy-based adhesive readied for market
CCUR affiliates lead Grow Iowa Values Fund grantsMike Krapfl, News Service
Iowa State has awarded $975,773 of state economic development dollars to 11 research projects. The grants range from $49,380 to $162,717. They must be matched by the researchers and their project partners. This is the second time Iowa State has awarded the competitive grants. This round attracted 38 researchers hoping for funding. Review committees recommended the grant winners based on their potential to create Iowa businesses, create jobs, increase sales, improve products, license technology, collaborate with Iowa businesses or attract federal research funding. “These 11 projects have clear commercial potential for the state of Iowa,” said John Brighton, Iowa State’s vice provost for research. “These projects demonstrate Iowa State’s commitment to translating discoveries into viable technologies, products and services to strengthen the economy of Iowa.” Center for Crops Utilization Research affiliates were awarded six of the grants totaling $577,076. Larry Johnson, the director of Iowa State’s Center for Crops Utilization Research and a professor of food science and human nutrition, and Nicolas Deak, a post doctoral research associate for the center, won a grant of $162,717 to develop their process for separating the two major proteins in soybeans. The food industry currently uses a mix of both proteins because the separation process is expensive. But Johnson said that compromises potential health benefits – such as reducing heart disease – associated with one of the proteins. It also compromises the unique food properties – the gelling characteristics, for example – of each of the proteins. Deak studied the problem as part of his Iowa State doctoral thesis and came up with a simple Johnson said the Grow Iowa Values Fund grant will help researchers learn more about the protein products, conduct market research and produce samples of the protein powders for testing by food companies. “Our goal is to bring new Iowa-produced food ingredients into the international marketplace,” Johnson and Deak wrote in their project description. “We’re truly excited,” Johnson said. “This idea of commercialization is having a profound impact on what universities do in the area of research. We feel we’ve always done good science. But we lacked the funding to move it to a commercial level.” State lawmakers agreed last spring to appropriate $5 million per year for 10 years to the Regent universities for economic development projects. Iowa State’s share is $1.925 million for each of the 10 years. Iowa State will use as much at $1.325 million per year to support research projects with high potential for commercialization. Other CCUR affiliated winners:
The other winners in this round of the grant competition are:
High expectations for 2006 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference in Ames August 28-29The 2006 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference, which will be held August 28-29 at Iowa State University, promises to be a dynamic, high-profile event. This year’s theme, Growing the Bioeconomy: Reimagining Agriculture for National Energy Security, will outline strategies for producing a significant amount of U.S. energy from agricultural crops and residues. A keynote address will be delivered by Dartmouth engineering professor Lee Lynd. Lynd will describe several potential models for integrated biorefineries as well as different types of crops that can provide the raw materials needed for large scale bioenergy production. The bulk of his presentation will focus on ways to integrate the production of food, feed, fiber, and energy and ways to continue to expand today’s ethanol plants into integrated biorefineries which process different feedstocks into a wide variety of biobased products. As far as the impact investors can have on the development of biobased industry, keynote speaker and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who was recently labeled one of the nation’s most influential ethanol advocates, will be talking about his investment strategies. Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, has a venture capital firm called Khosla Ventures, which endeavors to build integrated biorefineries that provide positive economic, social and environmental benefits to communities around the world. Speakers Bob Egerton, commercial agribusiness division manager at CoBank; Tom Dorr, Undersecretary for USDA Rural Development; and Willis Hanson, Iowa Bankers Association, will address important issues related to the anticipated economic changes in the agricultural sector. Other highlights of this year’s conference include 14 breakout sessions, tours and workshops. The breakouts will cover promising bioprocessing research and discoveries, market incentives for biobased products, bioenergy infrastructure, and policy and environmental issues. Tours of the Lincolnway Energy Ethanol Plant, Iowa Energy Center/Biomass Energy Conversion Facility (BECON), Bill CouserFamily Farm, and Iowa State Agronomy Farms will be available. Registration is limited, so interested persons
Better bean oil for biolubricantsCourtesy of Iowa State Plant Sciences Institute
Two food science researchers are collaborating with a mechanical engineering professor to understand the properties of biobased lubricants. Earl Hammond, emeritus university professor, and Tong Wang, an associate professor, both in Food Science and human nutrition, are collaborating with Sriram Sundararajan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. “The ultimate goal is to modify soy oils to introduce new molecular structures that can be used as lubricants,” Wang said. “We’re using model systems to find molecules that work best.” The research will help biologists modify plants to make oils with desirable structures and properties. Researchers want a biobased lubricant with a low melting point; low oxidation, comparable to petroleum-based motor oil; and the right viscosity. Low oxidation and melting point are important to keep the oil from gelling or freezing, respectively. The right viscosity lets oil cling to parts without excessively increasing the resistance to flow. Most oil molecules are straight-chain fatty acids – carbon atoms linked in a line, Sundararajan said. Hammond and Wang, both affiliates of the centers for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition and Crops Utilization Research, want to see if adding a branch, altering chain length or introducing unsaturation (so carbon atoms are linked by double bonds) in fatty acids creates favorable qualities. Hammond recently found that branched fatty acids from lanolin have a relatively low melting point. He and Wang also are testing oleate esters – fatty acids that have reacted with alcohols – that could be used for lubricants or biodiesel. Wang and Hammond synthesize the model oils and Sundararajan uses a device called a microtribometer to test them. The instrument has a sphere that slides against a flat surface under a controlled load in the presence of test lubricants. Engineers check the components for wear and monitor friction during experiments. The research is making progress, Hammond said. “I think we can tell them that branched-chain fatty acids are capable of solving the melting point problem.”
Wilson named University ProfessorLester Wilson, Food Science and Human Nutrition, has been named university professor. A top expert in food processing, particularly soy foods, Wilson is affiliated with the Center for Crops Utilization Research. He also has established a reputation as a top adviser and unselfish mentor to students and young colleagues at Iowa State. The title of University Professor recognizes faculty members who have had a significant impact on their departments and the university in the course of their careers at Iowa State. Wilson will be honored at the university’s fall convocation on September 11.
Chinese Ministry of Ag officials visit CCURYing Wang, Deputy Director General, and Jinqiang Chen, Deputy Division Director, Department of Finance, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture visited CCUR on May 15. They met with Robert Brown, Mechanical Engineering; Roger Ginder, Economics; and Larry Johnson, Food Science and Human Nutrition. Brown gave an overview of biorenewables systems, Ginder provided information on cooperative finance and the history of the Farm Credit System, and Johnson discussed crops utilization research for biorenewables.
Reitmeier describes tastes that please and botherKrysta Nibe
Soy foods researchers are able to more completely describe soy flavor thanks to research conducted by Cheryll Reitmeier, professor of food science and human nutrition. Reitmeier’s research interests include consumer, discriminative, and descriptive sensory evaluation of soymilk, tofu, and flour from lipoxygenase-free soybeans, extruded soy products, soy hydrolysates and many other food products. Initially, sensory evaluation of soy products often resulted in “beany” comments from panelists. However, as Reitmeier says, “beany can be good or bad. We found that the word ‘beany’ had many characteristics in soy foods.” She and her PhD student at that time characterized soy milk flavor in more complex ways. That initial work has led Reitmeier to her current project. She is focused now on evaluating flavors of soy hydrolysates that are being produced as part of a USDA special project. This project involves a multi-disciplinary group of researchers including chemical engineers, food scientists, and crop specialists. The group is using enzymes provided by Genencor to improve the properties of soy protein. “We want to see if certain enzymes will make the soy protein easier to disperse, act as a better emulsifier, and whip to foam better. This work with soy proteins is important as the substance is used in many common foods such as powdered coffee creamer, salad dressing, and non-dairy whipped topping.” The first soy hydrolysate using a Genencor enzyme resulted in less than satisfactory sensory evaluations. Reitmeier reports that the enzyme used changed the flavor in a negative way. “We had hoped for flavor improvement with the use of the enzymes, but did not find it this time,” Reitmeier said. “We have received new enzymes from Genencor and are planning to make and test new hydrolysates in the near future.” Those test results will be compared to the initial results and Reitmeier believes they will be able to determine which flavor characteristic was improved or reduced. “This will help the research group, in the long run, create a better product.” Sensory evaluation panels are often graduate students and staff at Iowa State. “It is important that our panelists know they are not just tasting the product, but they are also articulating what they experience,” she said. Most of Reitmeier’s panels are descriptive panels which are more intense experiences than indicating degree of liking for a product. These panels are used to decide how to describe appearance, texture and flavor. “In this situation, the panel comes in, tastes the product, talks about the products, and then decides how to describe the product characteristics,” she said. “It can take 12-20 hours for a descriptive panel to finish their work.” Though Reitmeier has had great success in using panelists, she has found that some researchers find these panels do not result in usable data. “When data from a sensory panel is deemed unusable, it is because either the panel is right and there isn’t a difference between the products, or the panel has not been trained enough to determine differences,” she said. “We realize we have to spend the time to teach our panels. This extra bit of time and training leads to much better and more significant results.” In the future, Reitmeier plans to continue her work in soy food flavors. More specifically, she is interested in investigating how consumers perceive bitterness in soy foods by using time intensity measurements. “It would be interesting to measure the intensity of bitterness over time,” she said. Through her research, Reitmeier has been able to discover problems and solutions to food flavors before the product is commercialized and released to the public. “For example, in the USDA project, if we find a treatment (enzyme) that works well and results in good flavor, it could be commercialized,” she said. “That’s why I am a food scientist; I like to see application of my research.”
Iowa State scientists use textured soy protein and okara to create foods high in protein, fiberThe use of all soybean components, including byproducts from soymilk production, can improve our health and soy’s product marketability, as well as reduce environmental waste. Scientists at Iowa State University used textured soy proteins (TSPs) and okara – the high-fiber remnant of tofu or soymilk making – to develop and commercialize soybean-based food products and technology to benefit consumers. Their research indicates that a chicken-flavored TSP and an okara-based snack food can be formulated for both the Japanese and American markets. These products will offer consumers a new high-protein product rich in fiber. To read the entire story go to www.soyatech.com/bluebook/news/viewarticle.ldml?a=20060215-2.
Larock’s bioplastics attract interest from major corporationsKrysta Nibe
Richard Larock, University Professor of Chemistry, is a renowned expert in the study of organic compounds. However, an innovative postdoctoral research associate working with Larock about ten years ago discovered a method of making plastics from soybean oil. From that initial research, Larock has built a research group at Iowa State University that is producing a remarkable range of new rubbers, adhesives, elastomers, and plastics from a variety of soybean oils. The researchers found that the products can be made by the polymerization and copolymerization of regular, low saturation, and conjugated soybean oils with a number of readily available, commercial comonomers, including styrene, dicyclopentadiene, and divinylbenzene. In fact, much of the oil used in the laboratory was purchased from a local grocery store. The group has not limited itself to soybean oil though. Plastics have also been created from tung, corn, linseed, fish, and many other oils. Recently the research focus has expanded beyond vegetable oil-based plastics. Larock is testing composites made from DDGS, a co-product of corn ethanol production. “DDGS are inexpensive products to purchase. With the boom of the ethanol industry, there are more DDGS than people can handle,” he said. The process for utilizing DDGS for bioplastics is quite simple, according to Larock. “We just need investments in the process to make it successful.” “Our research is expanding very quickly and gaining a lot of interest,” Larock said. Currently, the group is in discussions with numerous corporations who are looking to invest in the science of making these new products. For example, R3 Composites of Muscatine is a partner on a Grow Iowa Values Fund grant and is interested in using plastics from corn and soybean oil to manufacture hog feeders. Also, ADM and Ashland Chemical are participating in some pending grants. “ADM is also really interested in the coatings and derivatives work we have begun doing,” Larock said. Despite the interest that some companies have in this research, Larock still faces the challenge of proving that the products are industrially viable. “I am extremely excited to be working with numerous companies. They provide us information about the marketplace and our products,” he said. The market information that Larock and his research group will obtain will help them determine product properties that industries are looking for. “We have the ability to change properties to make what companies want,” he said. To enhance the development of the bioplastics, Larock and his group have discovered that new polymerization processes for preparing bioplastics are likely to be more compatible with additional biorenewable materials, such as corn stover and rice hulls. This will increase the potential for creating bioplastics. “Working with free radical polymerization processes affords us many options. This appears to be the most promising method of polymerization, because we do not have to worry so much about impurities,” Larock said. While Larock regularly lectures and studies organic compounds, he has also become known as an expert in biobased plastics research. He has been recognized by multiple organizations for this work, including the American Oil Chemists’ Society. With this recognition, as well as his support from industry, it is apparent that bioplastics are an important part of the future.
Hurburgh presents at GEAPS-NCGA Bioterrorism SeminarCharles Hurburgh, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, served on the US Bioterrorism Act – Protecting the Food Supply panel at the joint Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) and National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) Operations, Management, and Technology (OMT) Seminar August 1-2 in St. Louis, Missouri. The educational program on safety, health, environmental quality and security featured 13 speakers, some of the country’s top specialists in their fields. Hurburgh presented an interpretation and potential industry responses to the Food and Drug Administration Bioterror Recordkeeping Rules. These rules essentially require that food products can be traced from production origin to consumer, in the event of a natural or man made health threat. His presentation was supported in part by one of the projects within the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative (www.iowagrain.org), an extension program based in the Center for Crops Utilization Research. The OMT seminar was designed specifically for people in the grain, feed, milling and processing industries. About 140 people participated in the seminar.
New wellness center opens at the ISU Research ParkIowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy has approved plans for the first major initiative to emerge from the recent college combination – the Nutrition and Wellness Research Center. The brainchild of the late Paul Flakoll, the center will offer a comprehensive range of activities, including basic laboratory research, clinical studies, community-based interventions, and policy recommendations. The center will be housed in the ISU Research Park. A building formerly owned by Proliant is being refurbished to house the center. The facility will offer faculty, students, and staff an intellectual and physical space to work together and conduct studies to improve health and well-being of youngsters, adults, and the elderly in Iowa and beyond. More than 50 members of the faculty have already organized into four teams that address food, behavior, policy, and worksite health promotion. “We anticipate that most of the center’s studies will be multidisciplinary, meaning that faculty will work in teams with combinations of expertise to address some of our most pressing health and wellness issues,” said Cheryl Achterberg, dean of Human Sciences. Ruth MacDonald, professor and chair of Food Science and Human Nutrition, has been named interim director of the center. She has coordinated a number of open forums to encourage faculty collaboration. The wellness center faculty and staff will start off with a focus on childhood obesity, Type II diabetes, and osteoporosis and will investigate ways to turn starch that is resistant to digestive absorption into products that will help prevent or manage diseases and behaviors. Renovations are scheduled for completion this fall, when the center will open for business. “We hope many of you will come by to visit,” said Achterberg. The center will offer excellent collaborative opportunities for CCUR affiliates. For more information visit the center’s web site at www.nwrc.iastate.edu/.
Grants and Contracts Biotechnology Test Production, IA: Recovery and purificiation of recombinant proteins from plants Commercializing New Fractionated Soy Proteins to Improve Human Health and Food Quality, SafeSoy, LLC, $50,000, L. Johnson and N. Deak. Enzyme-assisted aqueous processing of soybeans, USDA, $780,966, L. Johnson, P. Murphy, D. Myers, C. Glatz, T. Stahly, S. Jung, and C. Reitmeier.
Jarboe attends U.S.-Sino Dairy Management Training Center opening ceremonyDarren Jarboe, CCUR, attended the opening ceremony for the U.S.-Sino Dairy Management Training Center in Sanhe, Hebei on June 28. The U.S. Grains Council (USGC), in cooperation with China Genetics, officially dedicated the center housed at the Hua Xia Dairy Farm where USGC has been developing a comprehensive training program to enhance management skills in China’s commercial dairy sector. The objective is to accelerate demand for feed grains. No sophisticated technical training on testing, quality, and safety exists in China and this training center filled a void. The demand for dairy products like milk and cheese in China is expected to grow from approximately 15 million metric tons in 2004 to almost 40 million tons by 2010 – more than a 50 percent increase, according to Rabobank. The Council estimates that China’s milk yields per cow average about 5,000 kilograms per year (11,023 pounds annually), on feed primarily made from low-quality crop residues. A corn silage-based diet could increase yields significantly and increase domestic consumption of corn. Center staff will train dairy managers and technicians on best practices for quality forage production and management, dairy feeding, and animal husbandry. Iowa producers attending the ceremony were Daryl Haack, board member, National Corn Growers Association and Vic Miller, vice chairman, USGC.
Awards and HonorsThe Lipid Oxidation and Quality Division best paper award is presented annually to the authors of the best paper relating to lipid oxidation or quality published during the past year in the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) Press publications. This year’s recipients are Baran Onal–Ulusoy, Earl Hammond, and Pamela White for the paper entitled Linalyl Oleate as a Frying Oil Autoxidation Inhibitor. (JAOCS, vol. 82, no. 6: pp. 433–438). The award was presented at the AOCS Lipid Oxidation and Quality Division luncheon May 1. Earl Hammond of Iowa State University is this year’s recipient of the Supelco/Nicholas Pelick–AOCS Research Award. The award consists of a plaque, an honorarium, and travel expenses. The Supelco/Nicholas Pelick–AOCS Research Award was established to recognize outstanding original research, as presented in high-quality technical papers regarding fats, oils, lipid chemistry, or biochemistry. Supelco, Inc., a subsidiary of Sigma Aldrich Corp., and Nicholas Pelick, a longtime member and past president of the AOCS, are the sponsors of this award. Hammond gave the award address Confessions of an Unfocused Research Professor on May 2. To read Hammond’s speech go to www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ccur/news/presentations/hammond/hammond.pdf. Larry Johnson was named an AOCS Fellow at the 2006 Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. Veteran AOCS members whose achievements in science entitle them to exceptionally important recognition Jose Gerde received the Edible Applications Technology Division Student Excellence Award at the 2006 AOCS Annual Meeting. The award recognizes an outstanding graduate student doing research toward an advanced degree in the edible applications field of interest. The award consists of $500 to help defray expenses to attend and present at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo and a certificate. Gerde gave the presentation, Frying Performance of No-trans, Low Linolenic Acids Soybean Oils, during the General Edible Applications session on May 3. Gerde is a graduate student with Pam White.
Check this outLarry Johnson was interviewed about wet corn milling and CCUR was mentioned over three pages in the book Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, which has made the top 10 list of nonfiction books. The book is about food production systems from farming to processing to retail marketing.
Colletti appointed to College of Agriculture AdministrationEd Adcock, Agriculture Communications Service
Joe Colletti has been named senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture at Iowa State University. Colletti’s appointment was effective August 1. He had been serving as the senior associate dean on an interim basis since August 15, 2005. Colletti joined Iowa State in 1978 as a faculty member in the forestry department. He was named interim chair of the natural resource ecology and management department in 2004. He earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry in 1972 at Humboldt State University, and master’s and doctorate degrees in forest economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1974 and 1978.
Soy-based adhesive readied for marketDeland Myers was featured in the April 2006 Plant Sciences Institute newsletter for his work to create soy adhesives to supplement existing wood adhesives made from petroleum – a limited resource that is becoming more expensive. To read more see www.plantsciences.iastate.edu/newsletter/2006-04/soyad.html.
Korean Study Team visits CCURA Korean Value Enhanced/Identity Preserved Corn Study Team visited CCUR on May 31. The U.S. Grains Council sponsored the team of Korean corn processing industry executives. The team met with Jay-lin Jane, Larry Johnson, and Pam White, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Martha James, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology.
CCUR VisitorsJason Rechkemmer, Woodruff Companies, brought 30 young professionals from Fort Dodge on April 13. The purpose was to learn about Iowa State research and development of value added products from corn, soybeans, and other products rasied in Iowa. Stephanie Mercier, staff member for Senator Harkin, visited with the Aqueous Processing Research Group on April 17. Thierry Boyer (Country Lead in Hungary) and Dave Tierney, both from Monsanto, learned more about ethanol on June 26. Dr. Andy Sutton visited Iowa State and CCUR on behalf of a number of companies from the United Kingdom in the biofuels and bioproducts sector. He spent time with a wide array of Iowa State scientists. Sutton will lead a delegation of company representatives next spring.
Bulletin is the newsletter of the Center for Crops Utilization Research (CCUR). Bulletin is published quarterly by CCUR at Iowa State University, 1041 Food Sciences Building, Ames, Iowa 50011; 515-294-0160. Director: Lawrence Johnson Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 515-294-7612. |