INFORMATION about the 25th International Scientific Conference on Isoprenoids (Naples, Italy)
From September 18 to 20, 2024, the 25th International Scientific Conference on Isoprenoids took place in Naples, Italy.
A total of 125 participants from 17 countries attended the conference.
The conference began with the election of the Executive Committee of the Isoprenoid Society, which included Professors Giovanni Appendino (Italy), Sergazy Adekenov (Kazakhstan), Pavel Drasar (Czech Republic), Jeroen Dickschat (Germany), Orazio Taglialatela-Scafati (Italy), Agnieszka Wojtkielewicz (Poland), Miroslav Strnad (Czech Republic), Jacek Morzycki (Poland), and Vladimir Khripach (Belarus). Professor Sergazy Adekenov was unanimously elected President of the Isoprenoid Society, while Professor Pavel Drasar was elected Secretary General.
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The work of the Conference was opened with a welcoming speech by the President of the Society of Isoprenoids, Professor S.M. Adekenov.
During the conference, 9 plenary presentations, 38 oral reports, and 42 poster presentations were delivered.
A significant portion of the reports focused on key areas of isoprenoid chemistry, pharmacology, and technology, specifically:
- Isoprenoid chemistry;
- Biosynthesis and metabolism of isoprenoid compounds;
- Pharmacological research on isoprenoid compounds;
- Genetic and ecological aspects of isoprenoids.
Notable presentations included those by Professor Giovanni Appendino (Italy) on "Hidden gems from the early studies on isoprenoids," Asaph Aharoni (Israel) on "How do plants evolve specialized metabolites and pathways," Scott Snyder (USA) on "Strategies and tactics for the rapid synthesis of molecular complexity," Ikuro Abe (Japan) on "Unusual enzyme reactions in natural product biosynthesis," Dean Guo (China) on "Natural products chemistry and phytochemical profiling of isoprenoids from Chinese herbal medicines: taking Dendrobium nobile as an example," Paola Dugo (Italy) on "Innovative chromatographic methods for the analysis of isoprenoids in essential oils," Ren Xiang Tan (China) on "Discovery, biosynthesis, and regeneration of bioactive fungal metabolites," Jeroen S. Dickschat (Germany) on "The mysterious case of sodorifen and beyond: mechanistic investigations on terpene synthases," and Luca Senaldi (Italy) on "Synthesis, conformational behavior, and occurrence of cannabidiol isomers."
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The General Director of the Research and Production Center "Phytochemistry" JSC, Professor Sergazy M. Adekenov, delivered a report titled "New Plant Sources of Sesquiterpene γ-Lactones" and presented six poster presentations: "Biomimetic Modification of Sesquiterpene γ-Lactones," "Microbiological Transformation of Arborescin," "Terpenoids of the Essential Oil of Artemisia austriaca Jacq," "Solid Dispersion Based on Leukomycin," "Antiparasitic Activity of Sesquiterpenoids," and "Effects of Sesquiterpene Lactones on Pancreatic Cancer Cells."
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Professor Antonio Cala Peralta from the Organic Chemistry Department of the University of Cádiz (Spain) expressed interest in the antiparasitic activity of sesquiterpene lactones. Professor Georges Massiot from the Université Reims Champagne Ardenne (France) proposed collaboration on promoting the Kazakhstani drug Arglabin in the European pharmaceutical market. Dr. Francesco Panara from the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development showed interest in the raw material Taraxacum kok-saghyz. Chinese Professor Ren Tan (Nanjing University) was interested in endemic Kazakhstani plants as potential sources of neuroprotective alkaloids. Professor Zsolt Szakonyi from the University of Szeged (Hungary) proposed conducting stereoselective syntheses based on the sesquiterpene lactones argolide and grosshemin to develop substances with antiproliferative activity.
Professor Sergazy M. Adekenov, General Director of RPC "PhytoChemistry" JSC, held negotiations with representatives of the pharmaceutical company INDENA (Italy), Luca Senaldi, Pietro Allegrini, and Luca Pagni, on organizing joint production of phytopreparations from plant raw materials of the Rhodiola and Saponaria officinalis genera.
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