Location: Functional Foods Research
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Resolve the unknown biophysical properties of novel bio-based composites and their ingredients to enable commercial fabrication of engineered wood products.
Goal 1.1: Identify and develop techniques to convert low value ag-waste (i.e., fermentation residue solids and seed press cakes) and juvenile perennial biomass into marketable commodities.
Goal 1.2: Identify and evaluate the factors associated with the response of novel EWP panels to various environmental conditions and methods of their ultimate disposal once their utility function is fulfilled.
Objective 2: Convert agricultural wastes and low value byproducts into bio-based pesticides and enhanced soil amendments to increase commercial agricultural and horticultural yields.
Goal 2.1: Identify chemical and physical properties of biochars produced from renewable biomass sources and from low-value agricultural co-products and develop these biochars for use as novel, high-value horticultural substrates and for bio based products.
Goal 2.2: Evaluate the use of alternative pesticides from a variety of low value plant biomass and from harvesting and processing waste streams.
Objective 3: Utilize specific phytochemicals and nutraceuticals from agricultural wastes and low value byproducts to develop new or improve nutritional value in foods and animal feeds.
Goal 3.1 Identify key phytochemical components from low value products and wastes to characterize their chemical and biological activities when present alone or in mixtures for determining synergistic properties for new uses as food and feed ingredients.
Goal 3.2 Use collaborative studies to determine the role/activities of key phytochemical components for use as bio-pesticides in feeds, feed storage, and plant growth systems.
Objective 4: Enhance methodologies to quickly determine and evaluate chemical components and to rapidly and non-destructively assess levels of compositional components in large sample sets of raw agricultural harvests and products.
Goal 4.1 Determine if single step accurate mass spectrometric analysis can be used to accurately determine the chemical formulas of phytochemicals present in extracts of seeds, leaves, stems, or bark of several target plant species.
Goal 4.2. Determine if accurate NIR calibrations can be obtained for glucosinolate and flavonoid phytochemical components in plant species identified and characterized in the previous research project.
Approach
The overall goal of this project plan is to convert selected low-value agricultural feedstocks into value-added bio-products based upon their physiochemical or chemical properties. The specific bio-products being presented are: (a) engineered wood products (EWP) for indoor uses; (b) biochar as an adaptive for plant growth media; (c) slow-release bio-pesticides; (d) phytochemical (e.g. plant natural essences) based functional food and feed ingredients; and (e) phytochemical based pest control agents. In addition, it is proposed to develop convenient methods for phytochemical discovery and high-throughput methods for measuring amounts of known chemicals present in plant tissues. The feedstocks being investigated include residual pressed oil seed, distillers’ grains with soluble (DDGS) from corn ethanol plants, low-value Midwestern growing trees as well as cedars, and pelletized soybean hulls. Seed cakes will include from soybeans and oil seeds of belonging to the Brassica family that are of emerging interest for industrial applications: Lesquerella, cuphea, and pennycress. One notable aspect of this work is that the combination of feedstock and bioproduct were selected to exploit specific properties of each. The research will also make use of pre-existing expertise in supercritical fluids to develop “green” methods for recovery of bioactive chemicals from plants. Finally, the phytochemical discovery element will be expanded to other crops or plants of emerging interest to further arbitrage newly developed methods.
Progress Report
Objective 1: No further progress has been made on this objective due to critical vacancy.
Objective 2: Research conducted during the current reporting period has generated knowledge and technologies for developing biochars for use as novel, high-value bio-based products. Under Sub-objective 2.1: ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, identified chemical and physical properties of biochars produced from renewable biomass sources (e.g., abundant low-value wood species). Biochar can be an excellent means to absorb beneficial or harmful chemicals. The type of material used to make the biochar determines the adsorptive capacity of the biochar. Biochars were prepared made from ten common species of wood to determine which ones made the best biochar. The physical characteristics (e.g., surface area, elemental composition, and moisture content) of these biochars were determined. Biochar from Eastern red cedar was determined to have very high surface area which is generally correlated with adsorptive capacity. The adsorption efficiency of Eastern red cedar biochar was determined for a compound that is used as an antioxidant (i.e., 6PPD) in tires that is also highly toxic to salmon was measured. Eastern red cedar may provide an effective method to prevent the toxic antioxidant from entering waterways and causing subsequent fish kills.
Under Sub-objective 2.2: ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, evaluated the use of alternative pesticides from low value plant biomass. A large-scale, long-term field trial was set up to test the efficacy of a biobased formulation containing cedarwood oil and starch for preventing damage by termites and wood-decay fungi. Previous research has shown that formulations of cedarwood oil and starch impart resistance to damage against termites and wood- decay fungi in laboratory studies. These cedarwood oil-starch formulations have not been tested under field conditions. The study compared three different sources of cedarwood oil, two types of starch, and two ammonium chloride components in a large-scale field trial. The treated lumber samples will be checked annually for a total of five years to compare the efficacy of the different treatments. The test areas chosen to have very natural high termite populations and even after one year exposure, some indication of the effectiveness of the treatments is obtained. The results of this study will determine if the cedarwood oil-starch formulation is resistant to termites and decay fungi. This formulation of cedarwood oil and starch could provide an effective wood preservative method using safe natural materials derived from abundant agricultural materials.
Also under Sub-objective 2.2: ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, prepared a formulation of cedarwood oil to form a barrier to foraging red imported fire ants. Cedarwood oil is Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) and has an EPA exemption for use as a pesticide. Many species of ants are economically important for the damage they cause. Safe natural control measures for these pests are needed. Cedarwood oil has been shown to be repellent to several species of ants. A simple formulation for cedarwood oil was developed to inhibit foraging ants in a variety of situations. This formulation was provided to a university collaborator to test its effectiveness. This cedarwood oil- based formulation may provide a safe natural means to help manage economically important pest ant species like red imported fire ants.
Under Objective 3: ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, evaluated thousands of hemp floral samples from agricultural field sites in Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. University partners and an ARS location in Geneva, New York, (which are managing these field sites) are cultivating a variety of hemp varieties that are best for their state’s climate. A crucial component of the project relies on ensuring the percent total tetrahydrohydrocannabinoid (THC) in hemp floral tissues is below 0.3%. Any materials above 0.3% must be destroyed. To ensure the reliability of their methods, ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, participated in the National Institute of Standards and Technology cannabinoid evaluation testing program, as well as collaborated with university labs to gain insights into the prevalence of lab-to-lab variation in hemp testing labs. Developing and proving a standard method will assist in the exportation of hemp and hemp products across state and international borders. The results from these projects will be published this and next fiscal years.
Under Objective 4: An individual plant species can produce hundreds of phytochemicals. Although many of these phytochemicals have yet to be characterized, an even greater number of phytochemicals lack reference standards to confirm their identities. In addition, purchasing a standard can be cost-prohibitive. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, have used high-resolution mass spectrometry to predict the molecular formula and structures of phytochemicals detected in Arabidopsis, frost grape (riverbank grape), and hemp. These phytochemicals were either detected in crude extracts or partially purified extracts. The accuracy and prediction capabilities of this in- house mass spectrometer reduced the likelihood of purchasing the wrong standard thereby saving money and made it easier to interpret nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data.
Accomplishments
1. Method for predicting biochar surface areas from tree pore diameters. Biochars can be very effective for adsorbing organic and deleterious compounds from contaminated water. The surface area of biochar is critical for the adsorbing capacity of biochar. Predicting the surface area of biochars from new woody materials is not straightforward. The diameters of pores within the wood of several tree species were compared to their subsequent biochar surface areas. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois found that biochar surface area was found to be inversely proportional to pore diameter of the wood of tree species. This information will provide an efficient method to predict what tree species would be good candidates for producing effective biochars.
2. Biochar from Eastern red cedar identified to capture toxin that is linked to fish kills. A breakdown product of an antioxidant used in tires finds its way into waterways and is highly toxic to salmon and causes large fish kills in the northwestern United States. A means to adsorb this toxin before it enters streams could prevent salmon losses. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, found that biochar made from Eastern red cedar was found to adsorb this toxin from contaminated water. Eastern red cedar biochar could be used to remediate contaminated runoff water and prevent economic losses from salmon death.
3. Cedarwood oil, a new repellent against invasive red imported fire ants (RIFA) that girdle young trees and injure animals and people. RIFA are serious economically injurious pests around the world, which have caused $6.7 billion in annual losses in the United States. Cedarwood oil is a safe natural material derived from abundant Eastern red cedars in the United States. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, found that cedarwood oil effectively repelled RIFA . Spraying of cedarwood oil is an effective means to deter foraging RIFA and prevent economic damage from them.
4. Starch/cedarwood oil dispersion to prevent termite and fungal decay of wood. Untreated wood can be degraded by organisms such as termites and wood decay fungi. Extracts from naturally resistant wood can be extracted and subsequently used to treat otherwise susceptible wood. Cedarwood has been previously demonstrated to impart resistance against termites and decay fungi. A starch/cedarwood oil dispersion was prepared and used to treat wood that was subsequently placed in three field locations to determine the resistance of the treated wood in a five-year study. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, found that preliminary results pointed to a positive outcome of using natural starch/cedar oil dispersion in deterring termites and wood decaying fungi from attacking wood.
5. Marijuana or hemp? A new method developed to differentiate. Both hemp and marijuana plants are the same species. The main difference lies in how much of tetrahydrohydrocannabinoid (THC) each contains. The total tetrahydrohydrocannabinoid (THC) concentration in hemp by laws cannot exceed 0.3% to be classified as hemp rather than marijuana. Meeting this standard is a challenge to U.S. hemp producers and requires clear and reproducible analytical methodologies. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, analyzed the cannabinoid composition of 20 different cannabinoids including total THC content for 600 hemp accessions. This data was used to develop and validate a more efficient and reproducible extraction procedure for measuring total THC concentration. This procedure will ensure the ability for quality control staff in hemp businesses to ascertain the total THC is below 0.3% in harvested cannabis materials and the materials thus can be classified as hemp.
Review Publications
Deshavath, N.N., Woodruff, W., Eller, F.J., Susanto, V., Yang, C., Rao, C.V., Singh, V. 2024. Scale-up of microbial lipid and bioethanol production from oilcane. Bioresource Technology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130594.
Kirker, G.T., Hassan, B., Mankowski, M.E., Eller, F.J. 2024. Critical review on the use of extractives of naturally durable woods as natural wood protectants. Insects. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15010069.
Appell, M., Wegener, E.C., Sharma, B.K., Eller, F.J., Evans, K.O., Compton, D.L. 2023. In vitro evaluation of the adsorption efficacy of biochar materials on aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, and zearalenone. Animals. 13(21). Article 3311. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13213311.
Eller, F.J., Kirker, G., Mankowski, M., Selling, G. 2024. Butylated hydroxytoluene and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid combined with cedarwood oil as wood treatments for protection from subterranean termites and wood-decaying fungi. BioResources. https://doi.org10.15376/biores.19.3.5847-5861.