May has been an outstanding month for Rick Dixon, D. Phil.

After Dixon, the Plant Biology Division Director and Senior Vice President at The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation was elected to the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month, he recently learned that he had been awarded $90,000 for a two-year research project funded by the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).

OCAST supported a total of six different scientific projects, with funds totaling more than $525,000. The OCAST projects were the first to receive funding under the new Oklahoma Plant Science Research (OPSR) program signed into law last year.

"The OCAST grants are critically important to scientific programs around the state," Dixon said. "OCAST reflects the commitment from the state to fund top quality science that is targeted to application, and therefore holds the potential to return money to the state."

Dixon's research in this particular project focuses on the kudzu plant, which has historically received negative attention in the southeastern United States for its aggressive growth. In contrast, kudzu is used in Asia as an herbal remedy. Flour made from the kudzu root is an ingredient in everything from candy to noodles because, like soybeans, it has been found to have health benefits due to the presence of chemicals called isoflavones. However, unlike soybean isoflavones, some kudzu isoflavones have a novel structure that enhances the biological activity of the isoflavone compounds, Dixon said.

Dixon aims to discover the genes that are involved in formation of this novel structure. If successful, his group will be able to develop new reagents for making kudzu-type isoflavones in other plants or bacteria.

These natural chemicals - the isoflavone compounds - are attracting considerable attention due to their potential for the treatment of post-menopausal ailments, cancer, diabetes and obesity.

"Kudzu isoflavones offer exciting new possibilities for dietary disease prevention," Dixon said. "Developing new platforms for producing such compounds could have significant impact on how we treat many diseases, as well as providing opportunities for commercial development within the state."

07-027

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News Release Issued: May 22, 2007

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.