NEWS OF THE WEEK
SECOND QUARTER: Market picks up,
but industry leaders stay cautious
L
EADING EUROPEAN chemical firms are report-
ing an uptick in sales and profits for the second quarter of 2015 compared with the same period a year ago. Although sales are accelerating, companies say some markets are spotty, and they remain cautious about prospects for sustained growth in 2015. Most firms cite recent restructuring measures or growth in markets outside Europe as key reasons for improvements. CEFIC, Europe’s largest chemical industry association, states that European chemical production grew just 0.3% in the first four months of 2015. “These figures show that the real economy is still not growing. In Europe, we need EU policymakers to start walking their talk on competitiveness, jobs, and growth,” says CEFIC Director General Hubert Mandery. And yet the uptick in European company sales compares favorably with the second-quarter performance of some leading U.S. chemical makers, including Dow
PROTECTING EARTHWORM GUTS CRITTER CHEMISTRY: Drilodefensin
surfactants help worms cope with a high polyphenol diet
E
ARTHWORMS WOULD PREFER not to eat a
diet high in polyphenols. But they often have no choice. The leaf litter that provides most of their diet is typically high in polyphenols, which can trigger proteins in the worms to precipitate and can disrupt their enzymes. Plants produce these compounds to defend against herbivores. New research suggests that a metabolite unique to earthworms might help them cope with their highpolyphenol diet. Using mass spectrometric imaging, Jacob G. Bundy of Imperial College London and coworkers showed that a class of metabolites the researchers call drilodefensins are localized in the earthworm gut (Nat. Commun. 2015, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8869). Worms that eat more polyphenols produce more drilodefensins, according to the researchers. Chemically speaking, the drilodefensins are dialkylfuransulfonates. They account for about 1% of the
Chemical and DuPont, which recorded sales declines, due in part to the effect of shifting exchange rates. Additionally, confidence among Europe’s chemical company executives has improved in recent months, according to a CEFIC survey. British chemical execs also appear to be gaining confidence, according to the Chemical Industries Association, a EUROPEAN RESULTS U.K. trade group. A survey found that nearMost firms posted secondly 60% of U.K. chemical firms expect sales quarter sales, earnings to rise during the next 12 months. gains Lanxess reported a surge in secondSales Earnings quarter earnings driven by higher sales Arkema 39% 67% volumes and positive currency effects. The German firm, which until recently was BASF 3 0 struggling, has upped its full-year profit DSM 12 82 forecast as a result. “Lanxess is returning Evonik 8 121 more and more to the right course,” ChairLanxess 4 58 man Matthias Zachert says. French chemical maker Arkema experiSolvay 4 350 enced a significant financial improvement in the second quarter. Like-for-like sales increased 12%, rising to 39% when Bostik, its recently acquired adhesives business, is included. Sales in thiochemicals, nylon, and fluorochemicals improved nicely, the firm says. “Arkema enters the second half of the year with confidence, while remaining cautious on the future development of the global economic environment,” CEO Thierry Le Hénaff says.—ALEX SCOTT
worms’ body mass, Bundy says. The researchers have found them in multiple earthworm species but not in other types of worms, such as leeches or aquatic worms, that don’t consume leaf litter. The researchers think the compounds work as biological surfactants that prevent protein precipitation without reducing enzyme activity. When Bundy and coworkers first identified the compounds, they thought they were probably on the worms’ surface and helping them move through soil. But mass spec imaging revealed that wasn’t the case. “Not until we got the mass spec images did we realize that, no, they’re in the gut,” Bundy says. “The mass spec imaging completely changed our understanding about their potential function as biological molecules.” To obtain the images, the researchers needed to freeze the earthworms and cut them into sections. If they tried to extract the gut components, the drilodefensins simply disappeared. Bundy suspects that enzymes toward the back of the worms’ gut rapidly degrade the metabolites to recycle them—especially the sulfur, he says. Randy A. Dahlgren, a professor of soil science at the University of California, Davis, says the work is of interest because of potential impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. “Polyphenols play an important role in organic matter quality that affects carbon cycling,” he says. “The earthworm turnover of highpolyphenol, organic matter may affect global carbon cycling.”—CELIA ARNAUD
CEN.ACS.ORG
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AUGUST 17, 2015
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HO3S A drilodefensin
MANUEL LIEBEKE
EUROPE’S CHEMICAL SALES INCREASE
Mass spec imaging shows that the most abundant drilodefensin is localized in the earthworm’s gut as seen in this cross section. Levels of the compound are indicated by color, ranging from low (blue) to high (red).
