By Howell Medders

University of Arkansas food scientists are inventing new products that will add value to soybean oil, protein and even hulls.

Dr. Andy Proctor, whose specialty is lipid (oil) chemistry, and Dr. Navam Hettiarachchy, a protein chemist, have high expectations for six novel soy materials.

Proctor is developing processes to make soy hulls more absorbent for a variety of industrial uses, and he is developing a soy lecithin emulsion for use in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

Hettiarachchy is working on degradable and edible films that could be used as a protective coating for food items; a soy-protein based wood glue; soy-protein peptides with superior foaming and emulsifying properties for use in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals; and iron-carrying peptides to enhance the use of soy protein as a meat substitute and baby formula.

The scientists' projects are supported by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board and the United Soybean Board.

Proctor's UofA research team has developed a charring process to convert soy hulls, which sell for $110 a ton, to a carbon absorbent, which sells for $20 a pound and is more environmentally friendly than the mined clay absorbents used in purification processes in a variety of applications.

Proctor said the soy hull carbon absorbent is more effective than other carbon absorbents at binding certain materials, including metals in water. This makes the product useful for water purification.

Proctor has also developed a soy lecithin surfactant as a non-allergic and environmentally friendly alternative to petrochemical products now widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Soy lecithins are phospholipid surfactants that occur naturally in the skin cells, he said.

Hettiarachchy and her research team have developed a procedure that models soy protein molecules into an effective wood adhesive that she believes will be the first product from her lab that will add value to soybean meal.

Soy-based adhesives have been manufactured, but their use has declined with the development of cheaper and better petrochemical products. The material developed in the UofA laboratory has improved adhesive and water repellent properties and has been shown to be highly effective for binding wood and for making particle board and similar composition wood products. Hettiarachchy said.

Coating fruits and vegetables with waxes, meats with fat, and candies with sugar and chocolate are common preservation methods. Soy protein has film-forming properties, but the film does not provide the moisture barrier required for food preservation uses, Hettiarachchy said.

She is working on improving the adhesive and film-forming properties of soy protein combined with water insoluble wheat gluten to produce a coating material for fruits, vegetables and nuts, and a biodegradable protective wrap for dairy and meat products.

Iron deficiency is a major nutritional problem throughout the world, including the United States, Hettiarachchy said. The iron in many foods, including some iron-fortified products, is not biologically available, she said.

In soy protein, the presence of phytic acid inhibits the bio-availability of iron. Hettiarachchy is using food-grade enzymes to produce soy protein with low phytic acid and create an improved iron carrier.