Compounds that are more expensive than 30,000 times are found from rice

Momilactone A and B compounds were discovered by Vietnamese scientists, successfully isolated from rice husk and rice for 1.25 million USD / 1g.

On January 29, Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan , Head of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Hiroshima University (Japan) first published in MDPI's famous international scientific journal Molecules about finding The presence of two Momilactone A and B compounds (MA and MB) in white rice.

The compound was previously sold by Carbosynth.com, a British company specializing in biochemical products, for $ 1.25 million for 1g. This means that 1g of this compound is 30 thousand times more expensive than 1g of gold.

Two Momilactone A and B compounds are extracted at the Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory, Hiroshima University.

The reason why the compound is so expensive is that it is very rare to have a successful laboratory to extract. Also because its price is too expensive, it is rare for a laboratory to be financially able to buy MA and MB, so deep research on this compound is also absent in the world.

Therefore, after finding these two precious compounds in rice and rice husk, he and his colleagues at Hiroshima University's Plant Physiology and Biochemistry laboratory have been distilling and purifying day and night. From 20 kg of rice husk, after nearly 3 months, about 300 mg MA and 200 mg MB (accounting for about 1/100 -150 thousand weight of rice husk) are refined.

Prof. Tran Dang Xuan's findings and colleagues in 2018 are developing methods of measuring and detecting highly sensitive MA and MB compared to conventional methods in the laboratory, allowing the measurement of MA and MB content in the parts of rice with low levels to nano grams (1/1 billion grams). This allows the presence of MA and MB to be detected in daily white rice of 2.07 and 1.06 milligrams / g in Japanese rice.

After successful extraction, physiological and biochemical tests, anti-diabetes, anti-obesity and gout tests were based on in vitro experiments to inhibit the activity of the main enzymes from this compound as well. done by the research team. The results showed that both MA and MB had high activity inhibitory activity that was superior to standard inhibitors such as acarbose - which was commercially sold and widely used in the treatment of diabetes.

The MA and MB compounds also exhibit strong biological and chemical activity at lower reaction concentrations than a known gallic acid phenolics compound. Moreover, the combination of MA: MB at 4: 1 ratio results in optimal inhibition of xanthine oxidase enzyme associated with gout resistance.

Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan concluded: "MA and MB are new compounds against new diabetes, anti-obesity and gout through the ability to inhibit the activity of enzymes related to these diseases. These are Important biological activity, first studied on MA and MB ".

Based on in vitro research results, Assoc. Prof. Tran Dang Xuan and colleagues confirmed that eating a certain amount of rice daily could help reduce the risk of gout, obesity and diabetes. This conclusion changes the common perception that eating rice increases people's risk of diabetes.

Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan (middle) and researcher at the laboratory.(Photo: Hiroshima University).

Previously, since 1973, Japanese scientist Tadahiro Kato and colleagues have found these two precious compounds in rice husk. For more than 40 years, scientists around the world believe that MA and MB are secondary metabolites produced by rice to inhibit the activity of plants competing with rice.

However, the research of Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan was later published that changed this concept. It was announced in 2007 (MA and MB have anti-oxidation, bacteriostatic and antibacterial resistance in the Journal of Plant Interactions - standard grade of ISI) and in 2016 (MA and MB play a role in Salt tolerance and drought tolerance of rice is much stronger than the ability to inhibit plant growth as Japanese scientist Tadahiro Kato and many other scientists in the world have published in over 40 years. ).

This publication draws great attention in the world of plant physiology in the world, especially on rice. Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan also affirmed that MA and MB compounds are even more capable.

Will study creating Vietnamese rice varieties with high MA, MB content

Over the years, only a few labs in the world have been able to refine MA and MB, but in milligrams (one thousandth of a gram) with very complex refinements. The previous methods only extracted the number of MA and MB from liquid gas chromatography (HPLC), paper chromatography (Paper Chromatography), or column chromatography (Column Chromatograpy) with low efficiency and low purity.

Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan said that in the two years from 2016 and 2017, he and his research team began to study how to purify the two compounds MA and MB from rice husks. Because they have a complex and quite similar structure, separate extraction and purification are very difficult.

However, he, along with scientists from India, Vietnamese PhD students at the Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory at Hiroshima University, based on India's experience to develop separately MA and MB purification methods from rice husk use temperature and pressure from common lab solvents. This method allows the extraction of two compounds with higher purity and higher purity.

These results are published in an international scientific journal (January 29, 2019) after only one week, many companies in Europe, America, and Japan have proposed investment and research cooperation on the two MA and MB compounds, creating rice products are capable of reducing diabetes, gout and obesity, as well as ordering two MA and MB compounds.

Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan said that he and his colleagues now want to focus more on studying biochemical, medical and pharmaceutical activities of MA and MB such as anti-cancer, dementia . and Experiments were conducted in vivo in mice and clinical trials, in order to understand the true role of two precious compounds many times more than gold in rice.

"The above suggestions have not been answered. The resale of copyright to Japanese, American or European companies can bring high returns to myself and colleagues, but the value of science brings for humanity is invaluable and live forever with time, ' Associate Professor Xuan said of the reasons for not cooperating with the units to offer invitations.

He also revealed that he will cooperate with a number of Japanese companies and Vietnamese research agencies such as the Agricultural Genetics Institute to produce rice varieties with MA and MB levels much higher than normal, to Create Made in Vietnam rice products but can be sold at high prices at home and abroad with features that minimize incurable diseases that are happening in Vietnam and the world.

He believed, after a few years, the first commercial products from Vietnamese rice containing high levels of MA and MB compounds would be known by Vietnamese, Japanese, European and American. Associate Professor Tran Dang Xuan hopes the project will contribute to improving Vietnam's rice position in the world, and can soon create products that are the pride of Vietnamese people.