U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research: Peoria, IL
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Research Units
                        Crop Bioprotection
                                    Plant Polymer Research
                                    Functional Foods
                                    Bioenergy Research
                                    Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research
                                    Bio-oils Research
                                    Renewable Product Technology Research
                    About NCAUR
                        Products from NCAUR
                                    Development of Penicillin
                                    ARS Science Hall of Fame
                                    ARS Culture Collection (NRRL)
                                    NCAUR Outreach
                                    People's Garden
                                    NCAUR Student InternshipsSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Peoria, Illinois National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research Docs





- NCAUR Home
- Development of Penicillin
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Products from NCAUR
- NCAUR Outreach
- People's Garden
- Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research (MPM)
- Bioenergy (BER)
- Bio-Oils (BOR)
- Crop Bioprotection Research (CBP)
- Functional Foods (FFR)
- Plant Polymer Research (PPL)
- Renewable Product Technology (RPT)

Productsheadline bar /ARSUserFiles/50100500/New-2018/products-banner.jpg Products from NCAUR The development of penicillin and other scientific contributions set an early standard of research excellence at NCAUR.  Following are a few of the results that are more easily recognized for their global and enduring impact. **Penicillin:**  Large-scale commercial production of penicillin during the 1940s opened the era of antibiotics and is recognized as one of the great advances in civilization. Discovering how to mass-produce the drug occurred in the U.S. -- at the Peoria lab.
**Dextran:**  Anyone ever having an IV has benefited from Dextran, a blood-volume extender first administered intravenously to Korean War battle casualties.
**Xanthan gum:**  Found in nearly every bottle of salad dressing and many other products on grocery shelves because of its ideal thickening properties, Xanthan gum is also used to extend the life of gas and oil wells.
**High fructose corn syrup:**  Scientists at NCAUR were the first to report the immobilization of glucose isomerase enzyme, a technique that was later adopted by industry for production of high-fructose syrups from corn sugars.
**Corn-soy-milk (CSM) blend:**  NCAUR conducted much of the research on fortified foods, developing a process to convert corn and other whole grains to shelf-stable flours with improved nutritional quality.  CSM is a blended food supplement used by the Food for Peace Program; some developing countries have copied the formulas and manufacture their own blends.
**Super Slurper:**  The starch co-polymer technology found in disposable baby diapers revolutionized super absorbents and resulted in the development of multiple industries representing billions of dollars per year.
**Oatrim:**  Creation of a highly effective method to increase the soluble fiber content in foods has resulted in four hugely successful technologies; beginning with Oatrim, each has contributed to improved foods and greater global health.
**Ethanol research:**  NCAUR research has provided key discoveries in the commercial biofuels industry, generating improvements that have been widely adopted by grain-alcohol distillers to reduce production costs.
**Mycotoxin research**:  Mycotoxin detection technologies developed at NCAUR have been transferred via licensing agreements to more than 30 companies in the private sector. The widespread use of these technologies helps to ensure the safety of the US food supply, facilitates export of U.S. grain, improves on-farm earnings, and promotes job growth in agriculture and biotechnology.
**Microbial Isolates:** ARS scientists in Peoria, Illinois, facilitated a wide variety of microbiological research through curation of the 98,000 microbes in the ARS Culture Collection, and facilitated technological innovation by enabling scientists to simultaneously fulfill microbial culture deposition requirements in association with patent applications in the United States and internationally. During the last 12 months, 4,800 microbial isolates were distributed from the ARS Culture Collection in response to requests from scientists in the United States and 41 other countries. Using a conservative estimate of monetary value, these strain distributions represent a roughly $1,000,000 in-kind contribution in support of scientific research and innovation. The broad impact of this work is evidenced by the fact that microbial isolates from the ARS Culture Collection have been used in more than 6,800 patents and 57,000 scientific publications.
**New crops and processing research:**  Researching oilseeds from around the world has led to new products from specialty crops, such as paper from kenaf, cosmetics from jojoba and meadowfoam and alternative rubber from guayule.
**Soybeans in Food:**  Researchers developed new technologies that led to the development of soybean oil with improved flavor quality and stability, ability for use in high-temperature cooking, and new soybean plant lines which produce soybean oil with a longer shelf life.
**Soybeans in Industry:**NCAUR scientists have expanded the uses of soybean oil and its derivatives to include their use as: hot-melt adhesives for shoe soles, bookbinding's, solders to close seams in cans and packaging, moisture-proof coatings and paints for porous surfaces; in the production of nylon 9, a tough plastic especially suited for use in electrical insulation and gears, bearings, cams and similar parts; additives to extreme-pressure lubricants for crankcase or transmission oils, cutting or extruding oils and continuous steel casting lubricants.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov