New corn fiber oil for
use in a variety of foods and food ingredients.
(Reprinted from the United States
Department of Agriculture – Agriculture Research Service “Quarterly Report of
Selected Research Projects – Oct-Dec. 1997)
The USDA has a cooperative research and
development agreement with Monsanto, St. Louis, MO, to use a new corn fiber oil in a
variety of foods and food ingredients. Feeding studies with hamsters at the University of
Massachusetts indicated the oil significantly lowered total serum cholesterol and
artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. A patent on the product, called Amaizing Oil, will be
held jointly by ARS and the University of Massachusetts.
The oil was extracted from the hull of corn kernels. Corn fiber is a low-value byproduct
of wet milling, the industrial process that produces starch, sweeteners, fuel grade
ethanol and other products from corn. About four million tons of fiber which could yield
about 80,000 tons of cornfiber oil are produced by the corn-processing industry each year.
This waste byproduct is now sold for about five cents a pound as an ingredient in cattle
feed.
Commercialization of this technology could also lower production costs of other
corn-derived products such as fuel ethanol. It has the potential to benefit the U.S.
economy by replacing imported petroleum, creating new jobs, providing new uses for
agricultural byproducts and increasing income for processors and growers, as well as
developing healthy new foods for consumers. (Patent 08/569,473). For further information,
contact: Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA, Kevin B. Hicks/Robert A. Moreau,
(215) 233-6580, khicks@arserrc.gov/ rmoreau@arserrc.gov. National Center for
Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, IL Robert A. Norton, (309) 681-6251, nortonra@mail.ncaur.usda.gov.
Natural
enzyme helps chickens and pigs retain their diet’s phosphate.
(Reprinted from the United States Department of
Agriculture – Agriculture Research Service “Quarterly Report of Selected
Research Projects - Oct-Dec. 1997)
A natural enzyme that helps chickens and pigs retain
their diet’s phosphate could be closer to widespread use as a commercial feed
additive. Adding the enzyme phytase to animal feed would help improve water quality by
reducing phosphate amounts and runoff in manure. Feeding studies indicate hogs and chicks
retain up to 60 per cent of their diet’s phosphate when phytase is added. This means
less gets excreted into the environment.
But commercial use of phytase in the U.S. has been limited. Mainly, that’s because
the enzyme breaks down when exposed to the high temperatures used to process feed into
pellets. Now, ARS scientists are developing a heat-resistant version of phytase from
Aspergillus fungi. One fungal isolate produces a phytase capable of withstanding 160
degrees F for several minutes. But it lacks the shelf life and other desirable properties
of a commercial phytase produced by A. niger.
The scientists are using recombinant techniques to design a superior enzyme that has the
best of both worlds: greater heat stability and longer shelf life. They are seeking a
commercial collaborator to help further develop superior phytase enzymes for use in
soybean meal and other feeds. For further information, contact: Commodity Utilization
Research Unit, New Orleans, LA, Edward Mullaney/Jaffor Ullah, (504) 286-4364, emul@nola.srrc.usda.gov/
aullah@nola.srrc.usda.gov.
Corn Production with
Reduced Tillage.
At the “Integrated Crop Management Symposium” hosted by the University of Guelph
on March 6, Prof. Tony Vyn outlined results of research from 1994-96 on corn production
comparing zone-till or fall disking treatments with either chisel- or moldboard-plowing on
heavy-textured soils. With zone-till, a zone approximately six inches wide by four inches
deep is tilled in the fall, leaving the rest of the soil and surface residue is largely
undisturbed. Corn is planted into this tilled zone (strip) in the spring.
On clay-textured soils -- and based on a similar planting date for all tillage treatments
-- fall zone-till provided corn yields comparable to fall moldboard plowing, and higher
than “no-till”, following both wheat and soybeans. Spring soil dry-down rates
were faster than in “no-till”, and similar to those observed with fall moldboard
plowing. As well, soil temperatures in the tilled zone were higher, a finer seedbed was
achieved and there was less soil resistance to root penetration, compared to no-till (all
aspects were similar to fall moldboard tillage). Surface residue coverage with zone-till
was about 40-60 per cent, intermediate between no-till and chisel, and much greater than
for fall moldboard plowing.
Fall disking on clay-textured soils can also result in soil dry-down rates and corn yield
potential which are greater than in no-till and similar to fall moldboard plowing, and may
be the best full-width tillage option for these soils.
If planting had been done when the soil moisture conditions were suitable (one to three
days earlier), corn yields with either fall zone-till or fall disking would likely have
been higher than those noted here, which were based on the same planting date for all
tillage treatments.