Herbicide

The use of corn gluten meal as an herbicide was patented in 1991, but, like many food-related substances used for gardening, is not regulated in the US. Corn gluten meal breaks down over time and can act as a fertilizer due to a high nitrogen content,but it should not be applied to areas where it is likely to wash directly into watersheds due to nitrogen runoff.

The effectiveness of corn gluten meal as a preemergent is not conclusive.The added nitrogen can allow turfgrass to outcompete weeds, and the meal can act as mulch to prevent weed emergence, but will not affect emerged weeds.

Animal feed

Corn gluten meal is commonly used as livestock feed containing about 60% crude protein. It can be source of protein, energy, and pigments for livestock, and is used in pet foods for digestibility. Corn gluten meal is occasionally confused for corn gluten feed, which instead has approximately 22%crude protein and is a mixture of bran, steep liquor, and maize germ oil from the milling process