Idemitsu Kosan Co. announced on March 24, 2008, that a research team led by Prof. Yasuo Kobayashi, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, has discovered natural materials that reduce methane gas production in cow rumens by about 90 percent. It is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of methane emissions, a cause of global warming, come from cows. With further research and development, the company aims to commercialize these natural materials by fiscal 2011.

The newly discovered materials comprise two substances; plant oil extracted from cashew nut shells and a bio-surfactant produced by Pseudozyma, a type of yeast.

The natural materials are expected to work as an effective alternative for the antibiotics that are presently used to improve rumen function in cattle.

http://www.idemitsu.co.jp/e/index.html
http://www.agr.hokudai.ac.jp/anim/nutr/kobaeng.htm

Posted: 2008/07/31 06:19:54 AM

TAG Eco-product/Business , Food/Water , Manufacturing industry , University/Research institute