FWGE

Fermented Wheat Germ Extract (FWGE) has raised many eyebrows in the alternative medical community in the last few years bolstered by promising studies. It has shown impressive results in cancers involving tumors and metastasis, auto-immune diseases, infections, and in stimulating the immune system. It is a substance we should seriously consider for our own and our racehorse's health.

To summarize and list what it can do:

1)   anti-tumor .   .   .   .   .   .   in one study, prominent apoptosis (cell death) of 20-40% was detected upon 24 h of treatment of the cell tumor lines. It is thought that FWGE negatively affects cancer cell metabolism.

2)   anti-metastatic   .   .   .   .   It is thought that benzoquinone in FWGE is the prime factor in preventing cancer metastasis, but it could also be due to cell adhesion inhibitory, cell proliferation inhibitory, apoptosis enhancing, and antioxidant characteristics of the extract as well.   In another colorectal study, FWGE reduced new recurrences of this caner by 82%, metastases by 67% and deaths by 62%, compared to chemo and radiation alone.

3)   anti-bacterial   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   a 2010 study suggests FWGE is very effective in inhibiting S. aureus and B. cereus.

4)   anti-mycoplasma   .   .   .   .   .    a 2004 study was conducted with FWGE in chickens challenged with Mycoplasma gallisepticum infections. No mycoplasma was reisolated from brain, liver, spleen, heart, or kidneys of the FWGE-treated birds, and the number of mycoplasma isolations from the respiratory tract samples was less frequent than from the infected untreated group.

5)   anti-inflammatory   .   .   .   .   .   studies suggest that FWGE will reduce inflammation since in many auto-immune diseases, inflammation was reduced, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

6)   anti-arthritis .   .   .   .   .   .   a 2006 study on RA patients suggested significant improvements compared with the baseline values. Dosages of steroids could be reduced in about half of the patients. No side effects.

7)   anti-parasitic .   .   .   .   .   One study done on rats infected with Trypansoma brucei (African trypanosomiasis) showed infected rats with decreased blood populations upon treatment.

8)    Reversed heart disease & glucose intolerance, normalized systolic blood pressure and decreased visceral fat deposition in rats fed a high-fat/high-carbohydrate diet.

9)    anti- toxins .   .   .   .   .   a 2011 study on rats with liver and kidney damage from organophosphate insecticides found FWGE limited tissue damage.

10)   anti-viral .   .   .   .   .   .   a 2009 pilot study on feline viruses concluded that FWGE exerts its effect on the cells primarily which are different in uninfected versus infected cultures.    FWGE treated virus infected cells reduce their virus producing capacity. A 2012 study with the feline immune deficiency virus suggests that FWGE decreases the virus's producing capacity., Facilitates in cell death of chronically infected cells, suppresses virus production while supporting the maintenance of cell integrity in an acute infections.   In humans and cats FWGE might contribute to viral load suppression and immune restoration.

11) anti-fungal   .   .   .   .   .   a number of studies have shown benzoquinones can be extremely potent anti-fungal compounds.

Historical Background

FWGE has an interesting history and one should consider it for a number of reasons for veterinary and human medical treatments. It all started with the famous Hungarian Vitamin C discoverer and Nobel winner, Albert Szent-Györgyi. He was a biochemist that felt cancer therapies were in essence, all wrong. He felt the more logical strategy was to target the cancer separately as opposed to the more commonly employed medical strategy of wholesale killing of cancer cells, along with any healthy ones nearby which also resulted in a suppressed immune system from chemo and radiation. He wanted the body to maintain a strong immune system and he wanted that immune system to identify cancer cells and attack the abnormal ones only. He felt that a group of compounds, the benzoquinones, offered promise in this regard. He theorized that wheat germ contains high levels of quinones compounds which could be concentrated even further with fermentation using yeast. How does this work? The raw wheat germ contains glycosylated and non-physiologically active bezoquinones. By using yeast, these bezoquinones can be released as 2-methoxy benzoquinone and 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone which is what we want for medicinal protocols. Since cancer research was taking a different route than Albert Szent-Györgyi's theories, his work was ignored by main stream medicine and languished for years until a young colleague, Dr. Hidvegi resurrected his ideas in the 1990s. Dr. Hidvegi developed and patented the process to make fermented wheat germ using common baker's yeast. His commercial product became known as Avemar in Hungary where it was produced with the USA equivalent named, AveUltra. Over 100 research papers have been authored on FWGE and it is commonly employed in the health system in Hungary. The big problem here in the USA is that AveUltra is so bloody expensive! A price tag of over US$160 per month is the going rate. This is out of the reach of most people with insurance as of yet not willing to pay for it. The beauty is that FWGE can be made at home for pennies!

Let's look at Dr. Hidvegi's patent (U.S. Patent #6,355,474) to get a better understanding how he makes it, but be warned it is illegal in theory for us to make it using his method without his permission:

Laboratory Scale Fermentation of Wheat Germ

"A suspension of 33.3 g yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and 1000 ml of drinking water have been added to 100 g fresh wheat germ (according to the Hungarian standard MSZ-081361-80) ground to flour quality. The mixture was shaken in a shaker for 18 hours at 30.degree. C. During this period the fermented liquid got foamy and reached about three times its original volume. After fermentation the mixture was centrifuged for 15 minutes at 3000/min. After boiling and cooling the supernatant was dried by lyophilisation, and the resulting lyophilized matter was kept until further use in the freezer (-10.degree. C.). The 2.6 DMBQ content of the resulting lyophilisate was 0.4 mg/g dry material (0.04% by weight)."

Large Scale Fermentation of Wheat Germ

"300 kg, wheat germ ground to flour quality (according to the Hungarian standard) and 100 kg, yeast were placed in a 5 cubic m fermentor, and drinking water was added until the volume became 4000 1. The fermentation period was 18 hours, during which continuous areating (0.5.1 air/l fermented liquid/minute) and slow stirring (30 rev./min) was used. In order to inhibit foaming 1 l/cubic m sunflower oil was added to the mixture. After fermentation areating and stirring were discontinued, and the fermented liquid was separated first in a screw decanter, then in a separator and finally in a filter press with textile filter. As auxiliary material 10 kg filtering perlite/cubic m was added. The fermented liquid was filtered sharp and the sharpness was checked be microscope. The filtered fermented liquid contained practically no cells, which meant that maximum 1 yeast cell was found per 10 sights. The resulting fermented liquid, which contained about 1.5% by weight dry material was evaporated in a vacuum condenser, at a temperature of 40-50.degree. C. and after discontinuing the vacuum boiled at atmospheric pressure for about 15 minutes. After this the dry material content of the solution was determined and so much maltodextrin--first solved in hot water and then cooled--was added that the dry matter content of the solution became about 30 mass %. After this the solution was spray dried in a shear nozzle rotating spray drier in which the temperature of the outgoing air was 90.degree. C. The resulting final product--a powder--contained 60% by weight of the fermented vegetal material according to the invention and 40% by weight maltodextrin. The 2.6 DMBQ content was--determined by HPLC according to the method described in the following example--0.4 mg/g dry material."

A simplified Version of the patent process:

1) Add 33.3 grams of baker's yeast to 1000 ml of warm distilled water,

2) Add this suspension to 100 grams of fresh wheat germ that has been ground to flour consistency,

3) Allow to ferment for 18 hours. This will be anaerobic (oxygen poor) fermentation which means this flask will contain a fermentaton lock limiting oxygen. It would be best if it could be shaken consistently over that period and kept at 30º C (86º F). Shaking will help strip the carbon dioxide out of the mixture and distribute nutrients and microrganisms. Hand shaking frequently may be good enough. If you happen to own a magnetic stirrer, this could be utilized to good use during the 18 hours. Make sure you have it in large enough flask to allow at least a 3x increase in volume.

4) After the 18 hours, one needs to separate the wheat germ matter from the supernatant (liquid) though that is debatable in the long run for a DIY'er. You can filter it with a close knit screen or cloth or some other device. This will be one of the more difficult stages as the product will be a thick paste which is hard to filter. A centrifuge can be a life-saver in separating the wheat germ from the liquid at this stage and as an initial stage to filtering. At this stage, it appears the patent says to boil and cool this supernatant as this helps to neutralize some bad enzymes or, perhaps, help kills the yeast cells to stop further enzyme production. You may do it now or boil everything before you try to separate the matter from the liquid, but after that, protect the solution from heat. Keep refrigerated until used up in a few days. In the end, it probably is not very necessary to do much separating of wheat germ from the liquid. It is ALL medicinal and if you can mix it into food as a thick liquid (maybe mashed potatoes or warm soup) that will help disguise the taste, that may be the economical way to go!

DIY Fermented Wheat Germ Extract

     Exactly what is Fermented Wheat Germ Extract and can it be made by the average man? Absolutely!   It isn't exactly rocket science here! Can it be made legally around the existing patent? Probably.   The patent involves using yeast, we don't have to. To get around this, we find that lactic acid bacteria similar to what is commonly used in sourdough bread starters to be a superb substitute for yeast. Lactic acid bacteria can be an equally useful tool accomplishing the very same thing as yeast, perhaps even better! Lactic acid bacteria is the preferred medium in sour dough cooking, not baker's yeast, and it can be used in making a superior FWGE just as well! Lastly, we are not commercially selling our FWGE so we don't have to perform added steps to make it saleable like a company would. We do not have to be overly concerned with storage preservation.   We do not have to make a freeze dried powder for storage or sales. This simplifies the process immensely! Simply utilizing the final fresh liquid FWG extract at that stage is all that is needed and the solid fermented wheat germ by-product can also be used for medicinal purposes at the same time!

     The crux of this matter is similar to how we use herbal medicine to heal.   Herbalists basically rely on the evolution of plants that have survived a world of competing organisms, extract those time proven plant properties that had allowed plants to survive, and find that many times, these plant extracts will help us animals fight similar problems that plants have learned over thousands of years to conquer on their own. After all, the theory of evolution evolves around the fact that we all have come from the same first life cell form and, accordingly, we are forever connected to all of life. So, when a plant has developed compounds that are anti-fungal or antibacterial or antiviral, these compounds when extracted and used by animals, can often accomplish the same feats for us. Fermented Wheat Germ is simply the using of the unique nutrients found in wheat and then using either bacteria and/or fungi to further change these nutrients provided by wheat germ in to even more healing formulas. We use bacteria or fungi as natural "factories" to process the raw wheat germ further for animal use. Simple, yet so complex! Actually, we do the very same thing with digestion in our stomachs and intestines. Our stomachs and intestines are simply natural "bioreactors" which house friendly bacteria and fungi which digest the food we eat and they in turn produce compounds we can absorb for life.   Without them, we could not utilize consumed food. Without them, we die.

    What is wheat germ? Wheat is made up of basically three parts: 1) Bran which is the outside layer of the seed we all know. It contains most of the fiber.   2) Endosperm which makes up 80%+ of the wheat berry and is where our white flour comes from. It is mostly carbohydrates.   3) Germ which is what we are interested in FWGE. It is the part of wheat that actually can become a future plant, if planted. As would be expected, it is nutrient rich, but can easily spoil and go rancid. Thus, you want to purchase fresh Raw wheat germ (not the toasted types). If you live in a rural setting, this may a bit more difficult. It can easily be purchased online and at most health food stores. Store in a refrigerator, short term or freezer, longer term.

    Baker's yeast is the next major component of FWGE as utilized in the Hidvegi patent.   Baker's yeast is the common everyday yeast used by millions of bakers in bread production. It is a fungus of the species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It can be purchased about any where. As stated previously, yeast is used as a means to process the glycosylated and non-physiologically active bezoquinones found naturally in wheat germ into the desired medicinal forms of 2-methoxy benzoquinone and 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone.   No doubt, yeast makes many other medicinal compounds along with the benzoquinones as well but at the moment, they are unknown, but not to be discounted in existing.

    Lactic acid bacteria which is what sourdough bread starter consists of, should be considered as a superb substitute for Baker's Yeast and may be the key to not infringing on the existing patent which would allow anyone to legally make their own FWGE.   A 2013 study, Synthesis of 2-methoxy benzoquinone and 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone by selected lactic acid bacteria during sourdough fermentation of wheat germ    by Rizzello et al.   (Microbial Cell Factories 2013, 12:105) impressively demonstrates that lactic bacteria can do everything that yeast can! Hence forward on this page, Sourdough Fermented Wheat Germ Extract will be known as SFWGE.

     Now, lets examine how we can make a lactic acid bacterial sourdough starter which we can use in a SFWGE formulation. Materials needed:

1)   Fresh raw wheat germ   .   .   .   .   I would use fresh raw wheat germ as part of my sourdough starter formula as this will more likely culture the favorable bacteria that are unique to wheat germ.

2)   Whole wheat flour   .   .   .   .   .   .   I would also use whole wheat flour as a component of my sourdough starter rather than while flour which is often suggested.   Whole wheat flour contains more nutrients for the future culture.

3)    Distilled water   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   One should avoid using tap water that has been treated with chlorine or other typical anti-microbial chemicals. Distilled water would be the safest best, but any clean fresh well water should work, too.

4)    Sugar   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   a tablespoon of sugar will provide some easily accessible carbohydrates to start the culture .

5)   Bread proofing box (optional)   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   If you live in a cold house during the cold months of the year, then you should seriously consider a bread proofing box which can be made cheaply.   It will keep your sourdough starter at the optimum temperatures (70-80° F) for the up seven days required.   It also may prove valuable for keeping your fermented wheat germ at the appropriate 86° F as well during the 18 hours of final fermentation. You can buy one ready made for over US$100 but if you are handy and have a few odds and ends around the house, make one! All you need is a large Styrofoam box, a $15 thermostat, a light bulb and some wire. Below is a YOUTUBE video on how to make one.

SFWGE Starter

Sourdough fermented wheat germ extract (SFWGE) will be formulated a little differently than your common everyday sourdough bread starter. There are many "Roads to Rome" in making a starter, this is the way for now which I suggest to make one. I will use both raw wheat germ and whole wheat flour as my ingredients and I will not use any yeast at all. I will let the natural bacteria already on the wheat germ & flour and in the air, along with what is on the hands to be the tools of inoculating the culture with the native favorable bacteria strains. Hopefully, the favored, common Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rossiae bacteria will be present. I don't want to add yeast as some recipes do, because it could choke out bacterial growth plus it would cause a patent infringement.

STEPS

Day #1:

1)      2 oz of whole wheat flour + 2 oz of raw wheat germ + 4 oz of distilled   water + tablespoon of sugar in a stainless steel or glass or crockery bowl.   It should be a consistency similar to pancake batter. A wetter, warmer starter has more bacterial activity and less yeast growth with more lactic acid relative to acetic acid. A drier, cooler starter has more yeast action compared to bacterial.

2)     Stir completely and cover with cheese cloth to allow circulation of air and air-bourne bacteria.   Place in a warm area or proofing box (70-80 ° F)

Day # 2-3:

3)     Feeding once a day: Discard half of he starter.   Add same amount of   whole wheat (2 oz) + wheat germ (2 oz) + (4 oz)water + spoonful of sugar to replace the discard.   Cover and let starter rest for 24-48 hours in warm place. This keeps the pH balanced and increases the nutrient ratio to growing culture.

Day #4-7:

4)     Feeding twice a day now , if bubbling is obvious in the culture: Discard half of the starter (approximately 4 oz), add 4 oz of fresh whole wheat flour + 4 oz of water + spoonful of sugar. Numerous feedings keeps acidity of the refreshed dough relatively low which in turns favors bacterial growth. Feeding intervals of longer than 3 days acidify the starter suppressing bacterial growth.

Making a sponge:

This is the final step before using your starter in your wheat germ solution. Mix 4 oz of starter with
4 oz of water + 4 oz of fresh whole wheat flour, stir and do not use until it has doubled in size. Once doubled, it is ready to add to your wheat germ solution for fermentation.

The starter should double in size after each feeding. Bubbling should be obvious. Feed regularly, once a week. For long term storage, place sealed in the refrigerator. Because we are using wild bacteria bourne from the air, we will always experience a successful conclusion to our starter. Sometimes, it will not take. Note if the starter runs out of food, it will start smelling bad.

Lacto-fermentation

     This is the anaerobic (without oxygen) fermentation type we will be dealing with in the making of FWGE. It is characterized by the use of the lactic acid producing bacteria (Lactobacillus) which favors a low oxygen environment. More oxygen rich air would favor yeast growth which we don't particularly want. As Wheat flour is hydrated with water, naturally occurring amylase enzymes break down the wheat flour starch into maltose. The enzyme maltase converts the maltose sugar into glucose. The Lactobacillus converts the glucose into lactic acid. There are basically three types of lactobacillus bacteria in a sourdough starter:

1)    L. delbrueckii, L. acidophilus, etc which grow in no oxygen, favor temps around 114° F

2)    L. casei, L. plantarum, etc which can grow in oxygen, favors temps around 59° F up to 114° F.

3)   L. fermentum, L. brevis, L. kefiri, L. sanfranciscensis, etc

Using a bioreactor:

A bioreactor is a vessel that is employed to maintain a favorable environment for the fermentation process which we want to carry out to produce a FWGE. A bioreactor will maintain the wheat germ water mixture along with the Lactobacillus culture at a favorable temperature and under anaerobic conditions. We will also want some type of stirring device which will help strip the produced carbon dioxide out of solution and help evenly mix the solution's nutrients with the microorganisms. And lastly, depending on the system, we may need a probe sensor to more easily monitor inside temperatures. All of this can be accomplished simply with common kitchenware or if you are like me, a lab nerd at heart, you can buy some used equipment on ebay. I have found that a 2 liter Erlenmeyer wide-mouth flask to work for me. It requires a #13 rubber stopper with a fermentation water lock on top. I will place it on a combination hotplate-magnetic stirrer to accomplish heating and stirring needs in one blow. I will also have an inexpensive digital thermometer and probe incorporated into the flask to carefully monitor internal temps. One can accomplish this by spending less than $100 for used ebay lab equipment. You just have to be patient for good deals to appear. If you want to go the cheaper kitchen route, simply any large glass jar with a secure lid should work. You will need to purchase a common fermentation lock used by brewers for a few bucks and attach to the lid. You will hand shake it at intervals and you can place it in the previously described bread proofing box to help maintain an adequately warm temperature or simply put it in your house where there is a consistent temperature of 70-80° F, Going this simpler cheaper route may take more labor, but can be just about as effective. Below is a photo of my system versus a Kitchen solution.

Producing a Sourdough Fermented Wheat Germ Extract:

1)   First,   measure approximately 100 grams of raw wheat germ into a glass measuring cup. It will be approximately one cup in volume. Next, place the wheat germ into a vitamix mixer along with a quart (1000 ml) of distilled water and blend for 3 minutes on high speed (20,000 rpm).   If you don't own a vitamixer, then go for a kitchen food processor or blender, blending a bit longer, 5 minutes or more. If you don't have a blender or processor, then simply hand shake. Pour the finished solution into a 2-liter flask or large jar with lid secure and fermentation lock in place.   Make sure your fermentation lock has water in it to make it air-tight.   Let it stand for 12-24 hours at room temperature. This will help macerate the raw wheat germ into the distilled water--allowing the wheat germ nutrients to infuse into the water before it is inoculated with the sourdough starter. This procedure is different from the patent in that in the patent, yeast is mixed into the water and then added to the dry wheat germ immediately. As an herbalist, I don't consider this a good procedure. One needs to have the wheat germ's components infused into the water before inoculation, ready for the introduced yeast or bacteria to do its job immediately. The patent has it reversed to my way of thinking.

2) This is the time if one was following the patent, one would add 33.3 grams of baker's yeast, but that would open you up to patent infringement. Instead, we will get around this by adding one cup of your previously prepared sourdough starter which is a lactobacillus culture as described earlier into your wheat germ solution. Stir and let stand for 18-24 hours at approximately 85º F, slow stirring constantly, easy, if you are using a hotplate / magnetic stirrer or hand shake every few hours otherwise.    You should see volume expansion and bubbling when the bacteria starts working.

3)   After the 18-24 hours of fermentation, you will need to boil the mixture to stop the fermentation process and further production of harmful enzymes.   This brings us up to a fork in the road on how you may want to proceed. If you want to separate the wheat germ matter from the liquid, producing a true liquid "extract" then we need to further process the solution. This will be a bit more difficult and may involve more expense in buying filtering equipment. Personally, again as an herbalist, I see absolutely no reason why one could not simply stop now and use the finished mixture in its paste form as a medicinal. After all, wheat germ and lactobacillus are both commonly taken as supplements and there is no good reason why they should be separated from the liquid now after fermentation. They should be medicinal as well in their own right along with the liquid.   Perhaps the only factor would be the taste? The taste is not the most palatable but then, most medicinals are not good tasting. Still, I would take a disagreeable taste over chemo or radiation or an infection any day, but maybe that is just me? You will have to gauge on your own, if you would prefer to stop now or refine the solution further into a liquid form. The liquid is characteristically reddish-brown.

     Certainly, if you were selling this as a company, you would not want to stop now because both the paste and the liquid would be perishable and not easily shipped. It is natural that a company would want to produce a freeze-dried powder for easy distribution, preservation, and sales to its customers. We as do-it-yourselvers, don't need to go that further expensive route.   We can stop now and start dosing with the paste, perhaps adding it to mashed potatoes or some other food or we can go on to separate the liquid supernatant from the solid matter allowing us to drink the liquid. I will discuss how to separate the liquid next. As far as transforming it into a dry powder, we need not and won't. Either way, the paste or the liquid will need to be refrigerated and used up within 5-7 days.

Separation of Wheat Germ from Supernatant

     A solution is defined as a consistently mixed composition of solvent and solute. In this case, the fermented wheat germ is the solute and the distilled water is the solvent. It is the solvent that will contain the bulk of the medicinal bezoquinones and other as-of-yet, undefined compounds which we desire. There are a number of techniques one can use to separate out the fermented wheat germ matter. I first tried a coffee filter in a buchner funnel/ vacuum flask configuration. I was only moderately successful with this vacuum filtration system. It certainly filtered a nice pure liquid in the beginning, but my harvest was very meager. It left too much of the solvent in the wheat germ paste sitting on top of the coffee filter not doing much of anything. Another person suggested using a nut milk bag. This may be a much better system, though I have not personally tried it yet. A nut milk bag is a fine mesh bag that was designed to separate almonds from their water solvent for a almond milk product. You can buy these online or I am told, you can make your own out of plain Swiss voile fabric in white or cream. You can buy it at most fabric stores or departments. I also think that a bag is not really the best way to go but a simple square of fabric is much easier to twist and clean than a small bag.   Either way, it may be a good way for the DIY'er to go?

     I was somewhat frustrated with my not very productive filter funnel system, so I went back and reread the patent. They used a centrifuge for small amounts formulated in the lab. I happened to have a small physician's style centrifuge tucked away in the closet and I dragged it out. I tried it and it did work very well. The fermented wheat germ was drawn to the bottom of the centrifuge tube with a fairly clear liquid (supernatant) was at the top. It was easy to pour off into a bottle. The only problem was my little centrifuge used 15 ml. centrifuge tubes which were a bit small to do a large volume and to clean out the paste once a run had been made. I needed a centrifuge that could use at least 50 ml. centrifuge tubes! I went to eBay and started looking what was available. Most of the used centrifuges on eBay often are being sold without a rotor or accompanying tube shields. I would avoid these. You want the complete unit. Also, many of the centrifuges look as if they had been rode hard and put away wet as they say. I lucked out and found a dupont Sorvall GLC-2B that seemed to fit my bill plus it looked practically in mint condition and it was reasonably priced! It had a rotor with 4 buckets that was designed to hold a tube around 125 ml in volume which was large enough for my needs. Trying to find a sorvall 125 ml centrifuge tube designed for this unit proved to be a difficult task, but I figured, one could easily make an adapter for it to use the commonly had 50 ml tubes, if it had to come to that. I felt if I looked long enough, I could find a bottles that would fit. I pulled the trigger and bought it on eBay for $140 + $60 shipping. It came and I was not disappointed. It looked in mint condition, run smoothly and should be a great addition to my other herbal equipment. I reasoned that it would not only be an efficient way to separate liquid from my FWGE, but could be employed with herbal tincture production as well. I should have had one years ago!

     If you do decide you want to buy a centrifuge, I will give you some tips, but I think you could get by cheaply with a nut milk bag from what I have heard. First off, you want to deal with an eBay seller small enough that they will work with you and answer your questions. You want to specifically ask them if their centrifuge is smooth running and will not jump around all over the place at top speeds. You don't want one of those! It means the centrifuge is out of balance and will open such a unit up to damage in the future. You also want the centrifuge complete with its rotor and tube shields. You want the rotor to contain shield tubes that are at least 50 ml sizes or larger. One can buy brand new table-top 50 ml units made in China for $300-400, but I tend to stay away from these. I am not convinced of the durability of Chinese products though they are getting better! I tend to favor American or European products that are used. Buying "used" can get you a very good item for pennies on the dollar, but you have to be careful of duds! One good thing about eBay is that they have a excellent return policy though when dealing with a heavy centrifuge, it could end you up costing $50 to return it. So be careful! Ask a lot of questions from the seller and if you have any doubtful feelings, wait for another unit to appear on eBay! As far as prices, I have seen what appears as very useable units go for under US$100, but most of the time expect to pay around US$100-200 though you will see them priced outrageously for $500 and up. The key is not to be in a hurry and wait for a good buy.

Pictorial Process of Formulating SFWGE: