Technofile : Sun farm

Farm waste could provide a cheap and plentiful source of ferulic acid, an
ingredient of suncreams that blocks harmful ultraviolet light. At present,
ferulic acid is manufactured chemically. Gary Williamson and his colleagues at
the Institute of Food Research in Norwich have identified enzymes in common
fungi that make ferulic acid from farm wastes such as cereal bran or sugar beet
pulp. The team reported their findings this week at the annual meeting of the
Biochemical Society in Reading.