The Wonderful World of Plant Phenolics: Scents, Spices, Medicinals, and Biofuels :
Researchers in the laboratory of Norman Lewis, WSU professor and director of the Institute of Biological Chemistry, are dedicated to understanding the often complex biochemical processes involved in plant phenolic biosynthesis.
Here they identify how certain plants biosynthesize some of their essential oil components—from eugenol, the essence of cloves widely used as a bactericide and mild analgesic, to methyl chavicol, a characteristic flavor component of basil, to vanilla, the flavor or essence of the vanilla bean.
Researchers are also pursuing how plants such as the May apple and flaxseed produce compounds with cancer preventive properties.
Another target is nordihydroguaiaretic acid from the desert shrub known as creosote bush, which is showing extraordinary promise for treatment of cancers of the head and the neck.
An even larger effort is establishing how lignins—nature’s second most abundant biopolymers after cellulose—are formed, including identifying their role in plant biochemical mechanisms and in the structure of the plant cell wall.
This year, in collaboration with a previous student (David Gang) and researchers at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Lewis’ team reported an exciting discovery regarding how plants make eugenol and methyl chavicol. “With that molecular knowledge in hand, we can devise new biotechnological ways to introduce such desirable characteristics into various plant species of agronomic importance,” Lewis said.
World-Class Rankings for WSU
Over the last decade, Washington State University ranked 24th in the world in terms of “citation impact” in the field of agricultural science, according to the latest issue of Science Watch newsletter, which tracks trends and performance in basic research. WSU was the 3th highest-ranked U.S. university on Science Watch’s top 25 list, which includes universities and national research agencies in Finland, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Australia, and the United States
“Citation impact” is defined as citations per paper and is a measure of the importance of the science conducted at an institution, as measured by its impact on the research conducted by others. During the same period, Barry Swanson, a food scientist at WSU, was the world’s 22nd most cited author in agricultural sciences, according to the newsletter. “This data illustrates the world-class research conducted by WSU faculty, such as Barry Swanson, and its impact around the globe,” said James Petersen, vice provost for research at WSU. “Seminal research conducted at WSU changes the direction of science and improves lives of individuals around the world.
This information illustrates that WSU truly is one of the world’s great land-grant research universities.” Eighty-three of Swanson’s papers were cited 99 times between 996 and 2006. The figures are based on papers published in 8 journals of agricultural science indexed by Thomson Scientific. “The quality of Dr. Swanson’s scholarship in advancing the discipline of food science is evident in his ranking,” said Ralph Cavalieri, associate dean and also director of WSU’s Agricultural Research Center. Swanson is best known for his work in the control of microbial contaminants in food, fat substitutes, and vegetable processing.
He joined the WSU faculty in 973, and during his career, he has received numerous awards and honors, including twice being named Nalley’s Fine Foods outstanding researcher of the year. In 2002, Swanson was elected a fellow in the Society for Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Technologists. He currently serves as editor of the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. “It’s very humbling,” Swanson said. “It’s recognition of a career’s work. I have been at WSU for 33 years and have advised about 25 doctoral students and close to 50 master’s students. Most of the publications
Norm Lewis and Phenolics
Barry Swanson and Graduate Student
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