Millettia Pinnata - Uses - Research Efforts

Research Efforts

The seed oil has been found to be useful in diesel generators and, along with Jatropha and Castor, it is being explored in hundreds of projects throughout India and the third world as feedstock for biodiesel. It is especially attractive because it grows naturally through much of arid India, having very deep roots to reach water, and is one of the few crops well-suited to commercialization by India's large population of rural poor. Several unelectrified villages have recently used honge oil, simple processing techniques, and diesel generators to create their own grid systems to run water pumps and electric lighting.

In 1997 the Indian Institute of Science started researching and promoting the use of the seed oil as a straight vegetable oil for stationary generators for electricity and irrigation pumps in the rural areas of Karnataka and Andhra. The program, SuTRA, successfully demonstrated the sustainability of such oil use in several villages all over India.

In 2003 the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy as part of its Biofuel Rural Development Initiative started a campaign of education and public awareness to rural farmers about M. pinnata in two Indian states. One of the Himalayan Institute's partners developed a consistently high yield scion that reduced the time it takes to mature from 10 years to as little as three. To help the farmers in the transition from traditional crops to M. pinnata the Indian government has contributed over $30 million in low-interest loans and donated 4.5 million kg (5,000 short tons) of rice to sustain impoverished drought-stricken farmers until the trees begin to produce income. Since the project began in 2003 over 20 million trees have been planted and 45,000 farmers are now involved.

In 2006 the Himalayan Institute began looking at locations in Africa to transplant M. pinnata into. Initially they began in Uganda but due to the lack of infrastructure and growing desertification the project has been growing very slowly. They have also begun a project in the Kumbo region of Cameroon where conditions are better. There has been some suggestions that M. pinnata could be grown all the way across the continent as a way to prevent the encroachment of the Sahara.

The University of Queensland node of the Australian Research Council Center for Excellence in Legume Research, under the directorship of Professor Peter Gresshoff, in conjunction with Pacific Renewable Energy are currently working on M. pinnata for commercial use for the production of biofuel. Projects are currently focused on understanding aspects of M. pinnata including root biology, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, domestication genes, grafting, salinity tolerance, and the genetics of the oil production pathways. Emphasis is given to analyzing carbon sequestration (in relation to carbon credits) and nitrogen gain.

Research has also been put into using the material leftover from the oil extraction as a feed supplement for cattle, sheep and poultry as this byproduct contains up to 30% protein. Other studies have shown some potential for biocidal activity against V. cholerae and E. coli, as well an anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive (reduction in sensitivity to painful stimuli) and antipyretic (reduction in fever) properties. There is also research indicating that M. pinnata can be used as a natural insecticide.