Conidendrin-Derived Compounds Tested as
Stabilizers.--Two new antioxidants, alphaand betaconidendrol--polyphenolic compounds derived from conidendrin, a substance occurring in many coniferous woods--have been compared with accepted stabilizers in a variety of products by chemists of the Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry.
Members of the Oilseed Division of the Southern ,Regional Research Laboratory in New Orleans, Louisiana, tested the conidendrols as inhibitors of oxidative rancidity in cottonseed and peanut oils, in lard, and in fat-containing candies, as stabilizers of synthetic rubber against aging and hardening, and as inhibitors of polymerization of certain vinyl-type monomers. They found that the conidendrols performed as well as or better than a number of the accepted stabilizers, including some marketed at higher prices than would be the conidendrols.
Since conidendrin, the parent material, is plentiful as a waste product during the pulping of western hemlock--an estimated 10 to 15 pounds can be recovered from the pulping of 1 ton--the derivatives would be of interest as potential replacements or supplements for stabilizers obtained from coal tar (benzene or naphthalene), if these became scarce.
Before the conidendrols can be considered for use in stabilizing food products, toxicity studies now under way at the Western Regional Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture must be completed.