Research News | VPRGS

Cherry research goes to the dogs

It's in the small print on the front of the bag: "Licensed under patent No. 6,576,271." That's the patent for a "Method for inhibiting inflammation using bioflavonoids" granted to Muralee Nair, professor of horticulture; Haibo Wang, former horticulture graduate student; Gale Strasburg, professor of food science and human nutrition; Alden Booren, professor of food science and human nutrition, and Ian Gray, now VPRGS, on June 10, 2003.

Led by Nair, the researchers identified anthocyanins in tart cherries and determined that they help shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation and that Montmorency cherries, in particular, contain a lot of anthocyanins. That chemical action suggested that cherries could provide a natural way to treat pain.

Nair and his colleagues then developed-and patented-a process to isolate the therapeutic compounds. After summarizing their invention, they explain in the patent text, "It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cherry compound which can be used as cyclooxygenase inhibitors and anti-inflammatory agents. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for isolating the composition on a commercial scale. Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a natural source compound which is economical to prepare and easy to use."

Meanwhile, Carol and Bob Adams at Overby Farm in the heart of Michigan's cherry country had heard about the possible health benefits of tart cherries and wanted to pass those potential benefits to their dogs. So they licensed the MSU patent and began experimenting with dog biscuits based on the cherry compounds that Nair had isolated. "That's when the fun began," they write on their Web site (www.hipbones.org/). "We started chopping, mixing, and baking in our own farm kitchen." The result: cherry Hip Bones, now distributed by the Leland (Michigan) Cherry Company.

Their dogs like the treats, and the future is promising. Now Nair and his co-workers have discovered that anthocyanins can also help reduce body weight, lower cholesterol, and increase insulin production, giving foods with high concentrations of the compounds the potential to help manage obesity and diabetes as well as pain.

Patents awarded

Congratulations to the faculty, staff, and students who received patents from June 7 to September 15, 2005.

Cichewicz, Robert, Horticulture; Nair, Muraleedharan, Horticulture; Antihelminthic Anthraquinones and Method of Use Thereof, 6,903,076

Hartmann, William, Physics-Astronomy; A Process for High Fidelity Sound Recording and Reproduction of Musical Sound, 6,925,426

Naguib, Ahmed, Mechanical Engineering; Li, Yongxiang, Mechanical Engineering; Oscillating Hot Wire or Hot Film Flow Sensor, 6,901,795

Nair, Muraleedharan, Horticulture; Booren, Alden, Food Science & Human Nutrition; Gray, Ian, Food Science & Human Nutrition; Strasburg, Gale, Food Science & Human Nutrition; Wang, Haibo, Horticulture; Method for Inhibiting Cyclo-oxygenase and Inflammation Using Cherry Bioflavonoids, 10-0499293

Penner, Donald, Crop and Soil Sciences; Sprague, Christy, Crop & Soil Sciences; Burow, Richard, Crop and Soil Sciences; Compositions and Methods for Protecting Cultivated Plants from Herbicidal Injury, 6,936,569

Xi, Ning, Electrical & Computer Engineering; Elhajj, Imad, Electrical & Computer Engineering; Synchronization and Task Control of Real-Time Internet Based Super-Media, 6,920,373