Vanillin from Cow dung

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Pls post this for all Cow lovers :

 

AFX News Limited

Japanese researchers extract vanillin from cow dung

03.06.2006, 02:20 AM

 

TOKYO (AFX) - Researchers at the state-run International Medical Center of

Japan said they have succeeded, in co-operation with Sekisui Chemical Co,

in making the smell of vanilla from cow dung.

 

Researcher Mayu Yamamoto said a one-hour heating and pressuring process

allows cow feces to produce vanillin, the main component of the vanilla-

bean extract.

 

The vanillin extracted from the feces could be used in products such as

shampoo and aromatic candles, but not in food, said Yamamoto.

 

Compared with usual vanilla, 'this component is exactly the same, but it

would be difficult for people to accept it in food, given the recent rules

of disclosing the origins of ingredients,' she said.

 

The production cost using dung is less than a half that of making vanillin

out of vanilla beans, she said.

 

The feces of grass-eating animals is abundant with lignin, the chemical

compound that exists in plants and trees and is used to produce vanilla

aroma, Yamamoto said.

 

'Lignin is difficult to decompose,' she said. 'Farmers are troubled by how

to dispose properly of animal excrement. We tried to solve this from a

recycling viewpoint,' she said.

 

After taking the vanillin, the processed feces could be returned to the

soil, she said.

 

The research team aims to develop a machine to handle several tons of feces

a day and put it to practical use in 2-3 years.