Evening star., 1932-04-21
CORN CObS YIELD
RARE CHEMICALS
Four Substances Obtained to
Date at Agriculture De-
partment Laboratory.
By THOMAS r. HENRY.

The neglected corn cob is yielding
some rare chemicals at the color labora-
tory Of the Department Of Agriculture.
Four substances have been secured to
date, it is announced by Max Phillips
and M. j. Goss, washington chemists
in the April journal of the American
Chemical Society. They are:
An oil which by simple oxidation
process can be converted into vanillin,
the material which gives vinalla its
characteristic odor and flavor
AniSic acid. the basic constituent OF
the volatile oil which is the odoriferouS
principle in anise seed.
Guaiacol, used in medical prepara-
tions as an antiseptic and now secured
from a wood diStillation.
Catachol, basic material in the syn
thetic preparation of adrenalil. the ad-
renal gland secretion, which is perhaps
the most powerful known stimulant OF
the sympathetic nervous system.
All Obtained From Lignin.
All these were obtained from hgnin,
one of the three principal substances in
all woody growth. 1t now goes to waste
to the extent Of about 5000, 600 tons
year.
Vegetable matter, DR.. Phillips ex-
planned. is made up mostly of three
primary chemical constituents. From
so to 60 per cent is cellulose, from
which paper, rayon and various explo-
sives are manufactured. Between 20
and 80 per cent is lignin, which belongs
to a chemical family by itself. The
balance iy made up Of various sub
stances rel5eed to the sugars.
In order to use celluloSe 1t Is neces-
sary to separate it from the hgnin by
a chemical process. The paper or rayon
manufacturer is obliged to see nearly a
third of his raw material go to waste.
The lignin, a dirty brownish liquid
when it comes from wood, usually Is
discharged into rivers, where it poisons
the fish and affects general sanitation
in the neighborhood.
The lignin from corn cobs, with
which DR.. Phillips is working, is Sc
cured in the form of brown powder,
but apparently is the same substance
basically as that which comes from the
logs out of which paper and rayon are
made. There is also plenty of Ggnin in
such waste products of the farm as oat
hulls and wheat straw. The corn cob
problem in particular has been a diff
cult one for the farmer. Its hgnin
content is high.
Exists in Minute Quantities.
The materials found in the corn cob
lignin, DR.. Phillips said. apparently exist
only in minute quantities, and no COM
mercial Importance is attached to them.
They are regarded at present as chemi-
cal curiositieS or by-products of the
long research necessary to find some
profitable commercial use for lignin.
The anisic acid, it was stressed, does not
itself have the familiar anise seed odor,
and it might be difficult to reverse the
process and produce the odoriferous
volatile oil.
Perhaps the most important of these
constituents found in the corn cobs is
the catechol, which now is obtained
chiefly from the juice Of one of the
mimosa plants. Use of adrenalin in
{ medicine Is growing, and the catechol
is basic essential for its production in
the laboratory. The corn cobs appear
to contain at least considerable re-
serve supply If it ever should be needed