Final Report Summary - CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT (Reinforcement of the WBC research capacities for food quality characterisation)
Executive summary:
The trend of production and use of healthy food has focused the researchers' attention on characterisation of the phenolic profile of foods consumed in everyday diet. Fruits and fruit products are known to possess beneficial effects on health due to a wide variety of natural polyphenols and consequently a great antioxidant potential. Western Balkan countries (WBCs) are predominantly agricultural with great potential for production of healthy food with authentic origin and specified health promoting composition.
In order to ensure efficient and appropriate development of food production and food quality characterisation in FYROM and Serbia, according to the European Union (EU) standards and practice, this project is realised for upgrading the research capacity in food quality characterisation by obtaining suitable equipment, improvement of the human potential by engaging young researchers and their training in the respective fields as well as establishing connections with leading European research groups in the area of polyphenols characterisation in food.
The main objectives accomplished with the realisation of this project are the following:
- reinforcement of the research capacities of the laboratories in WBCs;
- improvement of the human potential in the region by engaging young researchers and their training in member states, and also by sending scientists for specialised training or to prepare cooperative activities and / or joint Research and technology development (RTD) proposals;
- increasing the international cooperation in the region and with eminent research institutions in the member states with similar scientific interests and promotion of joint RTD activities of mutual benefit between the EU and the WBCs.
Additionally, long-term outcomes are also achieved such as:
- enhanced participation in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and more extensive scientific cooperation in the region;
- combating the brain-drain in the region, increased job opportunities for young scientists;
- improved collaboration with companies;
- improved level of graduate and PhD studies;
- increased competencies of the WBC labs for performing specific analyses.
In view of these objectives, the activities in the project have been focused on acquiring a sophisticated laboratory equipment and improvement of the human capacity by training of the young researchers for using the modern instruments for characterisation of phenolic compounds in complex samples (plants, fruits, wine) in the reinforced WBC laboratories. Dissemination of the reinforced capacity of the WBC laboratories within the project has been presented on the national and international scene by organising open days for all interested researchers, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and policy makers as well as workshops for presentation of mass spectrometry applications.
A regional and international network of researchers working on antioxidants characterisation has been established by participation of research groups from FYROM, Serbia, Bulgaria, France, Spain, Germany and Hungary. Expertise and research interests have been exchanged and possibilities for collaborations discussed for their joint applications for future research projects in the European research area.
Project context and objectives:
Reinforcement of the WBC research capacities for food quality characterisation
The main idea behind this project was to strengthen the research capacity in WBCs in food quality characterisation by obtaining suitable equipment, improvement of the human potential by engaging young researchers and their training in the respective fields as well as establishing connections with leading European research groups in the area of food research.
A more specific topic addressed here was related to the trend of production and use of healthy food, which has focused the researchers' attention on characterisation of the phenolic profile of foods consumed in everyday diet. Fruits and fruit products are known to possess beneficial effects on health due to a wide variety of natural polyphenols and consequently a great antioxidant potential. WBCs are predominantly agricultural with great potential for production of healthy food with authentic origin and specified health promoting composition.
So, in this project, the regional capacity in the area of food quality characterisation with emphasis on studies of natural polyphenols in fruits, wine and other plant materials has been reinforced through the objectives of the project:
- Reinforcement of the research capacities of the laboratories in WBCs. The chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje, FYROM, is now equipped with a liquid chromatograph with diode-array detector and ion trap mass spectrometer and a semi-preparative liquid chromatograph with diode array detector, whereas the Food Control Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences in Ni?, Serbia, is equipped with a liquid chromatograph with diode array detector and fluorescence detector and ultraviolet-visual-near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectrophotometer.
- Improvement of the human potential. The human capacity is reinforced by training of four young researchers, two from each WBC laboratory, who spent 2-3 months of training in the laboratories of the project partners at the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC-CEBAS), Murcia, Spain, and at the joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA-SPO), Montpellier, France. They obtained invaluable experience of working in teams competent in phenolics characterisation and very competitive at international level. Also, trainings on-site, in the newly equipped laboratories in the WBC was performed by colleagues from Spain, France and Bulgaria. As a result, first data on the phenolic profile of local wines and grapes as well as some traditional aromatic plants have been obtained.
- Increasing the international cooperation in the region and with EU research institutions. A regional network of researchers working on various aspects of antioxidants characterisation was established and a workshop for regional networking was held in Skopje by participation of 14 research groups from FYROM, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey. All CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT partners together with invited researchers from Germany and Hungary and food cluster members were gathered at the final conference of the project for international networking of researchers working on various aspects of antioxidants characterisation. Expertise and research interests were exchanged and possibilities for collaborations discussed which should bring them together in their joint applications for future research projects in the European research area.
- Dissemination of the reinforced capacity of the WBC laboratories has been presented on the national and international scene by organising open days for all interested researchers, SMEs and policy makers. Also, workshops for presentation of mass spectrometry applications have been organised in order to give the audience (researchers, professionals, graduates, PhD students) an insight in the possibilities and current trends in this technique.
- Participation in the food cluster initiative of the European Commission has brought the research groups from CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT in contact with researchers from other European regions involved various aspects of research in food science for exchange of expertise and building of new partnerships for high quality research in this area. Long-term outcomes from this project are also foreseen among which:
- Enhanced participation in the FP7 and more extensive scientific cooperation in the region, already demonstrated by the realisation of another FP7 REGPOT contract by the Institute of Chemistry (SWOT-CHEMISTRY-FOOD, http://www.chemistryfood.pmf.ukim.edu.mk/).
- Combating the brain-drain in the region by creating new job opportunities for young scientists for training and working in well-equipped laboratories and in a more competitive environment.
- Awareness about the importance of food quality and capability of the laboratories in the region to follow modern trends in food quality control and, more general, keep in touch with current trends in instrumental analytical techniques.
In summary, all these activities resulted in a substantial reinforcement of the research capacity of the WBC research groups, their competence and competitiveness in the area of food quality characterisation with emphasis on the antioxidant phenolic substances. The intensive exchange of knowledge and experience between the groups involved in this capacity project brought them together for future joint applications for research projects in the European research area. The expected impact on local and regional level is already accomplished in increased knowledge and skills for using scientific methodology in food quality characterisation and contribution to raising the public awareness on the importance of assessing the quality of food during production and processing.
Project results:
Reinforced research capacity
This objective was fully accomplished as planned. The big modern instruments were purchased in the first year as defined in Annex I. In the second year only small consumables and chemicals were purchased for the research work to be performed with all necessary chemicals and lab consumables. The activities included:
- Specifying the details for the needed equipment, which was made by consultation of the members of the scientific advisory Board of the project especially partners from CEBAS-CSIC and INRA-SPO who have experience in using the equipment to be bought for the WBC labs.
- The decision on purchasing the best offer was made considering cost/quality/benefit and state of the art equipment was purchased (again in consultation of the experienced partners).
So, two results are reinforced research capacity of two WBC laboratories:
- the chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje (FSM), by installing two comprehensive liquid chromatography instruments: high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to UV-Vis diode array detector and ion-trap mass spectrometer and one semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to UV-vis diode array detector equipped with a fraction collector.
- the food control laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University in Ni, Serbia, by installing a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to UV-vis diode array detector equipped with a fraction collector, and a UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer.
The new comprehensive instruments were installed in the first project year, as planned, and have been actively used in the second and third project year for developing methodology for identification and quantification of polyphenolic compounds in a variety of samples (plants, fruits, wines). The results from the research carried within project activities are presented below in the dissemination part.
Reinforcing the human potential
Advanced knowledge and skills of the researchers was the next task with the following three main objectives foreseen:
- Employing young researchers (contracts signed with 4 young researchers: 2 at the chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, (FSM) and 2 at the Food Control Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University in Ni, Serbia (FSM-S).
- Training of the young researchers from the reinforced Western Balkan laboratories in EU partners laboratories for using the modern equipment (planned for the first project year simultaneously with purchasing the equipment).
- Training of the research personnel in the WBC laboratories by stays of experienced researchers from the EU partners laboratories (planned for the second project year).
Trainings were successfully accomplished as follows:
- Four young researchers, two from each WBC laboratory (Violeta Ivanova and Jasmina Petreska from FYROM, and Milan Mitic and Aleksandra Radovanovic from Serbia), spent 2-3 months of training (from Sept-Dec 2008) in the laboratories of the project partners at the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC-CEBAS), Murcia, Spain, and at the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France. They obtained invaluable experience on employing liquid chromatographic techniques with various detection systems (UV-vis diode array, mass spectrometry, fluorescent), but also of working in teams competent in phenolics characterisation and very competitive at international level. As a result, first data on the phenolic profile of local wines and grapes as well as some traditional aromatic plants have been obtained.
- Emmanuelle Meudoc, an experienced researcher on employing different mass spectrometry techniques in polyphenols characterisation, from the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France, stayed in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje (FSM) for two weeks in April 2009, during which she trained the young researchers in the lab on using the possibilities of MSn for identification of polyphenols in various types of extracts (grape, wine, berries, pomegranate, mountain tea).
- Jean Marc Souquet, an experienced researcher on development of liquid chromatographic methods for separation of polyphenols from various samples, from the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France, stayed in the Food Control Laboratory in Ni, Serbia (FSM-S) for two weeks in April 2009 and visited the chromatography laboratory in Skopje, (FSM) for three days, during which young researchers were trained on development of separation strategies for polyphenols studies in grapes and wine.
- Dr Ángel Gil Izquierdo, an experienced researcher on employing liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry techniques in polyphenols characterisation for food quality and nutrition studies, from the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC-CEBAS), Murcia, Spain, stayed in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje, (FSM) for three weeks in July 2009 during which he trained the young researchers on using the HPLC coupled to MSn for identification of polyphenols in various types of extracts (grape, berries, pomegranate, mountain tea).
- Dr Kalina Alipieva from the Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry - stayed for three weeks (in October-November 2009) in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje during which she was trained and worked on characterisation of phenolic components in mountain tea using the new HPLC-DAD-MSn system.
- Jean-Marc Souquet from the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France, stayed in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje (FSM) for two weeks (in Feb-March 2010) and worked on separation and characterisation polyphenols in berry fruits (strawberries) and on development of methodology for studying polymeric forms of phenolic antioxidants.
- Dr Milena Popova and Dr Boryana Trusheva from the Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry - stayed for two weeks (in April 2010) in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje during which they were trained on advanced applications of tandem MS for structural characterisation of phenolic components from various plant extracts and propolis samples.
Dissemination of knowledge and possibilities
A major objective of the project was to present the reinforced material and human potential to the community in the country, the region and wider.
Networking for future joint research
Regional network of researchers working in various aspects of antioxidant components in food was established in the period September-November 2009 and a workshop for regional networking was organised in Skopje on 13 November 2009 by participation of 14 groups. For that purpose 11 other groups (apart from the 3 CHROMLAB -ANTIOXIDANT regional partners from Skopje, Serbia and Bulgaria) were invited: 2 from Greece, 2 from Turkey, 4 from Serbia, 1 from Romania and 2 from Skopje. They accepted to come to the workshop for regional networking in Skopje and exchange information about their expertise, research interests, involvement in various projects and programs. The list of groups-members of the Regional network was made according to their expertise in the field of characterisation of various components exhibiting antioxidant activity in plant products and previous expressed interest to join activities in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT.
A brochure with data: research expertise, interests and contact details of all groups was prepared and distributed (available for download at the project website: http://chromlab.pmf.ukim.edu.mk/news.htm).
The final conference of the project titled International networking and cooperation on polyphenols in food was organised in the third year, on 23 September 2010, next to the XXI congress of the chemists and Technologists of FYROM.
This international network of researchers working in various aspects of polyphenols in food exchanged their views on the experience in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project (project partners), presented own expertise and also needs and offers in terms of collaboration. This discussion was summarised by the coordinator as a basis for making further partnerships in future joint project applications.
A discussion on the experience and outcomes of the 'Food cluster' was carried involving all participants in this initiative present at the conference.
Potential impact:
The project CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT addressed all listed objectives identified in the call FP7-REGPOT-2007-3:
1. Reinforcement of the research infrastructure in the region by establishment of the Chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry (UKIM, Skopje) and the food control laboratory at the Department of Chemistry at (FSM-S, Nis, Serbia) as two distinguished research institutions in the region by enlarging their material and human capacity, networking them with other developed European research laboratories for exchange of experience thus facilitating high quality research in the region of WBC.
2. Developed partnerships with existing centres of excellence established in the Member States on one hand and the WBCs and the EU's convergence regions on the other.
3. The foreseen networking within this project facilitated the communication between the centres having similar scientific interest in the country, in the WBC region and wider in the region.
This project improved the exchange of personnel and of research results by hosting scientists from abroad for teaching, training and / or research activities, which already has, but also will continue to the expected results as follows:
- Improved and reinforced regional scientific cooperation - in quality and quantity and encourage the regional partners to join the European research trends.
Enhanced participation in the FP7 - improving the material resources brought more active cooperative activities and/or joint RTD proposals with the corresponding research centres. The exchange of personnel within this project was demonstrated as a starting point towards joining the European research area. Two FP7 proposals were submitted in the meantime.
Spreading excellence
The results expected from this project are strengthening the material and human capacity for scientific research in the area of food analysis (development of analytical methodology for analysis of organic analytes in various matrices, primarily antioxidants in foods) by equipping laboratories with sophisticated instrumentation and simultaneously training the personnel for its productive exploitation in research. This way, a very competent research and development personnel can be created, which can then contribute to spreading excellence in other research labs in the academic and business community and thus contribute to the development of the country. As a direct consequence of their involvement in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project and knowledge and experience obtained, four young researchers got permanent positions at faculties and Research and development (R&D) unit in industry.
Disseminating knowledge
The overall plan for dissemination of knowledge within this project included giving general information on the Chromatography laboratory at the Institute of chemistry (UKIM) and the Food control laboratory at the Department of Chemistry (FSM-S) by organising open days, workshops and a conference. These data were presented to the interested parties through:
- The project website regularly updated with project activities.
- The open days for welcoming in the labs was organised for colleagues scientists working in food science at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food, Agricultural institutes, Faculty of Pharmacy, as well as professionals working in laboratories for food quality control environmental, clinical laboratories, and also food producers in the food industry and SMEs, and other companies dealing with various aspects of modern analytical chemistry.
- Workshops for presenting the basics and advanced applications of the new equipment purchased within the project for students, researchers and professionals working in laboratories for food quality control, environmental, clinical laboratories.
- The final conference was organised for making a summary of the results and their presentation to the wider community as well as for getting together research groups interested in future joint research in the area of food quality characterisation.
- Companies were a special target with emphasis on wineries because the first systematic studies on the phenolic composition of wines and grapes from the region of FYROM and Serbia were performed within the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project and are already published in the scientific literature (still more results to follow). Contacts with wineries were established and possibility for research and development projects in future discussed.
- An arrangement for future collaboration was established with the researchers from the R&D Institute of the biggest regional pharmaceutical company (Alkaloid AD Skopje), who expressed interest in collaboration for research in stability studies of pharmaceutically active substances and preparations. One young researcher, who was involved in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project (Marina Kajdsanoska) got a position of a researcher in this R&D Institute by the end of the project, and the contract for collaboration between the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Alkaloid AD is in preparation.
Since agriculture is the main source of existence for this area and, the improvement of the infrastructure for characterisation of food quality has a major contribution to raising the public awareness on the importance of assessing the quality of food during production and processing. Establishing these regional centres of excellence for development of methodology for assessing food quality will enable establishing the system of quality control necessary for food export in developed countries.
Moreover, the experience gained in using liquid chromatographic and spectroscopic methods in food quality characterisation within this project will further increase the knowledge and possibilities for using instrumentation and scientific methods at national and regional level not only in the area food quality, but also in other related fields where sophisticated laboratory instrumentation is used for interdisciplinary research such as nutrition, biotechnology, environmental science, molecular biology, pharmacology.
List of websites: Project website: http://chromlab.pmf.ukim.edu.mk
The trend of production and use of healthy food has focused the researchers' attention on characterisation of the phenolic profile of foods consumed in everyday diet. Fruits and fruit products are known to possess beneficial effects on health due to a wide variety of natural polyphenols and consequently a great antioxidant potential. Western Balkan countries (WBCs) are predominantly agricultural with great potential for production of healthy food with authentic origin and specified health promoting composition.
In order to ensure efficient and appropriate development of food production and food quality characterisation in FYROM and Serbia, according to the European Union (EU) standards and practice, this project is realised for upgrading the research capacity in food quality characterisation by obtaining suitable equipment, improvement of the human potential by engaging young researchers and their training in the respective fields as well as establishing connections with leading European research groups in the area of polyphenols characterisation in food.
The main objectives accomplished with the realisation of this project are the following:
- reinforcement of the research capacities of the laboratories in WBCs;
- improvement of the human potential in the region by engaging young researchers and their training in member states, and also by sending scientists for specialised training or to prepare cooperative activities and / or joint Research and technology development (RTD) proposals;
- increasing the international cooperation in the region and with eminent research institutions in the member states with similar scientific interests and promotion of joint RTD activities of mutual benefit between the EU and the WBCs.
Additionally, long-term outcomes are also achieved such as:
- enhanced participation in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and more extensive scientific cooperation in the region;
- combating the brain-drain in the region, increased job opportunities for young scientists;
- improved collaboration with companies;
- improved level of graduate and PhD studies;
- increased competencies of the WBC labs for performing specific analyses.
In view of these objectives, the activities in the project have been focused on acquiring a sophisticated laboratory equipment and improvement of the human capacity by training of the young researchers for using the modern instruments for characterisation of phenolic compounds in complex samples (plants, fruits, wine) in the reinforced WBC laboratories. Dissemination of the reinforced capacity of the WBC laboratories within the project has been presented on the national and international scene by organising open days for all interested researchers, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and policy makers as well as workshops for presentation of mass spectrometry applications.
A regional and international network of researchers working on antioxidants characterisation has been established by participation of research groups from FYROM, Serbia, Bulgaria, France, Spain, Germany and Hungary. Expertise and research interests have been exchanged and possibilities for collaborations discussed for their joint applications for future research projects in the European research area.
Project context and objectives:
Reinforcement of the WBC research capacities for food quality characterisation
The main idea behind this project was to strengthen the research capacity in WBCs in food quality characterisation by obtaining suitable equipment, improvement of the human potential by engaging young researchers and their training in the respective fields as well as establishing connections with leading European research groups in the area of food research.
A more specific topic addressed here was related to the trend of production and use of healthy food, which has focused the researchers' attention on characterisation of the phenolic profile of foods consumed in everyday diet. Fruits and fruit products are known to possess beneficial effects on health due to a wide variety of natural polyphenols and consequently a great antioxidant potential. WBCs are predominantly agricultural with great potential for production of healthy food with authentic origin and specified health promoting composition.
So, in this project, the regional capacity in the area of food quality characterisation with emphasis on studies of natural polyphenols in fruits, wine and other plant materials has been reinforced through the objectives of the project:
- Reinforcement of the research capacities of the laboratories in WBCs. The chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje, FYROM, is now equipped with a liquid chromatograph with diode-array detector and ion trap mass spectrometer and a semi-preparative liquid chromatograph with diode array detector, whereas the Food Control Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences in Ni?, Serbia, is equipped with a liquid chromatograph with diode array detector and fluorescence detector and ultraviolet-visual-near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectrophotometer.
- Improvement of the human potential. The human capacity is reinforced by training of four young researchers, two from each WBC laboratory, who spent 2-3 months of training in the laboratories of the project partners at the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC-CEBAS), Murcia, Spain, and at the joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA-SPO), Montpellier, France. They obtained invaluable experience of working in teams competent in phenolics characterisation and very competitive at international level. Also, trainings on-site, in the newly equipped laboratories in the WBC was performed by colleagues from Spain, France and Bulgaria. As a result, first data on the phenolic profile of local wines and grapes as well as some traditional aromatic plants have been obtained.
- Increasing the international cooperation in the region and with EU research institutions. A regional network of researchers working on various aspects of antioxidants characterisation was established and a workshop for regional networking was held in Skopje by participation of 14 research groups from FYROM, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey. All CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT partners together with invited researchers from Germany and Hungary and food cluster members were gathered at the final conference of the project for international networking of researchers working on various aspects of antioxidants characterisation. Expertise and research interests were exchanged and possibilities for collaborations discussed which should bring them together in their joint applications for future research projects in the European research area.
- Dissemination of the reinforced capacity of the WBC laboratories has been presented on the national and international scene by organising open days for all interested researchers, SMEs and policy makers. Also, workshops for presentation of mass spectrometry applications have been organised in order to give the audience (researchers, professionals, graduates, PhD students) an insight in the possibilities and current trends in this technique.
- Participation in the food cluster initiative of the European Commission has brought the research groups from CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT in contact with researchers from other European regions involved various aspects of research in food science for exchange of expertise and building of new partnerships for high quality research in this area. Long-term outcomes from this project are also foreseen among which:
- Enhanced participation in the FP7 and more extensive scientific cooperation in the region, already demonstrated by the realisation of another FP7 REGPOT contract by the Institute of Chemistry (SWOT-CHEMISTRY-FOOD, http://www.chemistryfood.pmf.ukim.edu.mk/).
- Combating the brain-drain in the region by creating new job opportunities for young scientists for training and working in well-equipped laboratories and in a more competitive environment.
- Awareness about the importance of food quality and capability of the laboratories in the region to follow modern trends in food quality control and, more general, keep in touch with current trends in instrumental analytical techniques.
In summary, all these activities resulted in a substantial reinforcement of the research capacity of the WBC research groups, their competence and competitiveness in the area of food quality characterisation with emphasis on the antioxidant phenolic substances. The intensive exchange of knowledge and experience between the groups involved in this capacity project brought them together for future joint applications for research projects in the European research area. The expected impact on local and regional level is already accomplished in increased knowledge and skills for using scientific methodology in food quality characterisation and contribution to raising the public awareness on the importance of assessing the quality of food during production and processing.
Project results:
Reinforced research capacity
This objective was fully accomplished as planned. The big modern instruments were purchased in the first year as defined in Annex I. In the second year only small consumables and chemicals were purchased for the research work to be performed with all necessary chemicals and lab consumables. The activities included:
- Specifying the details for the needed equipment, which was made by consultation of the members of the scientific advisory Board of the project especially partners from CEBAS-CSIC and INRA-SPO who have experience in using the equipment to be bought for the WBC labs.
- The decision on purchasing the best offer was made considering cost/quality/benefit and state of the art equipment was purchased (again in consultation of the experienced partners).
So, two results are reinforced research capacity of two WBC laboratories:
- the chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje (FSM), by installing two comprehensive liquid chromatography instruments: high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to UV-Vis diode array detector and ion-trap mass spectrometer and one semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to UV-vis diode array detector equipped with a fraction collector.
- the food control laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University in Ni, Serbia, by installing a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to UV-vis diode array detector equipped with a fraction collector, and a UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer.
The new comprehensive instruments were installed in the first project year, as planned, and have been actively used in the second and third project year for developing methodology for identification and quantification of polyphenolic compounds in a variety of samples (plants, fruits, wines). The results from the research carried within project activities are presented below in the dissemination part.
Reinforcing the human potential
Advanced knowledge and skills of the researchers was the next task with the following three main objectives foreseen:
- Employing young researchers (contracts signed with 4 young researchers: 2 at the chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, (FSM) and 2 at the Food Control Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University in Ni, Serbia (FSM-S).
- Training of the young researchers from the reinforced Western Balkan laboratories in EU partners laboratories for using the modern equipment (planned for the first project year simultaneously with purchasing the equipment).
- Training of the research personnel in the WBC laboratories by stays of experienced researchers from the EU partners laboratories (planned for the second project year).
Trainings were successfully accomplished as follows:
- Four young researchers, two from each WBC laboratory (Violeta Ivanova and Jasmina Petreska from FYROM, and Milan Mitic and Aleksandra Radovanovic from Serbia), spent 2-3 months of training (from Sept-Dec 2008) in the laboratories of the project partners at the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC-CEBAS), Murcia, Spain, and at the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France. They obtained invaluable experience on employing liquid chromatographic techniques with various detection systems (UV-vis diode array, mass spectrometry, fluorescent), but also of working in teams competent in phenolics characterisation and very competitive at international level. As a result, first data on the phenolic profile of local wines and grapes as well as some traditional aromatic plants have been obtained.
- Emmanuelle Meudoc, an experienced researcher on employing different mass spectrometry techniques in polyphenols characterisation, from the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France, stayed in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje (FSM) for two weeks in April 2009, during which she trained the young researchers in the lab on using the possibilities of MSn for identification of polyphenols in various types of extracts (grape, wine, berries, pomegranate, mountain tea).
- Jean Marc Souquet, an experienced researcher on development of liquid chromatographic methods for separation of polyphenols from various samples, from the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France, stayed in the Food Control Laboratory in Ni, Serbia (FSM-S) for two weeks in April 2009 and visited the chromatography laboratory in Skopje, (FSM) for three days, during which young researchers were trained on development of separation strategies for polyphenols studies in grapes and wine.
- Dr Ángel Gil Izquierdo, an experienced researcher on employing liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry techniques in polyphenols characterisation for food quality and nutrition studies, from the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC-CEBAS), Murcia, Spain, stayed in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje, (FSM) for three weeks in July 2009 during which he trained the young researchers on using the HPLC coupled to MSn for identification of polyphenols in various types of extracts (grape, berries, pomegranate, mountain tea).
- Dr Kalina Alipieva from the Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry - stayed for three weeks (in October-November 2009) in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje during which she was trained and worked on characterisation of phenolic components in mountain tea using the new HPLC-DAD-MSn system.
- Jean-Marc Souquet from the Joint research unit 'Science for Oenology', National INRA-SPO, Montpellier, France, stayed in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje (FSM) for two weeks (in Feb-March 2010) and worked on separation and characterisation polyphenols in berry fruits (strawberries) and on development of methodology for studying polymeric forms of phenolic antioxidants.
- Dr Milena Popova and Dr Boryana Trusheva from the Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry - stayed for two weeks (in April 2010) in the chromatography laboratory in Skopje during which they were trained on advanced applications of tandem MS for structural characterisation of phenolic components from various plant extracts and propolis samples.
Dissemination of knowledge and possibilities
A major objective of the project was to present the reinforced material and human potential to the community in the country, the region and wider.
Networking for future joint research
Regional network of researchers working in various aspects of antioxidant components in food was established in the period September-November 2009 and a workshop for regional networking was organised in Skopje on 13 November 2009 by participation of 14 groups. For that purpose 11 other groups (apart from the 3 CHROMLAB -ANTIOXIDANT regional partners from Skopje, Serbia and Bulgaria) were invited: 2 from Greece, 2 from Turkey, 4 from Serbia, 1 from Romania and 2 from Skopje. They accepted to come to the workshop for regional networking in Skopje and exchange information about their expertise, research interests, involvement in various projects and programs. The list of groups-members of the Regional network was made according to their expertise in the field of characterisation of various components exhibiting antioxidant activity in plant products and previous expressed interest to join activities in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT.
A brochure with data: research expertise, interests and contact details of all groups was prepared and distributed (available for download at the project website: http://chromlab.pmf.ukim.edu.mk/news.htm).
The final conference of the project titled International networking and cooperation on polyphenols in food was organised in the third year, on 23 September 2010, next to the XXI congress of the chemists and Technologists of FYROM.
This international network of researchers working in various aspects of polyphenols in food exchanged their views on the experience in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project (project partners), presented own expertise and also needs and offers in terms of collaboration. This discussion was summarised by the coordinator as a basis for making further partnerships in future joint project applications.
A discussion on the experience and outcomes of the 'Food cluster' was carried involving all participants in this initiative present at the conference.
Potential impact:
The project CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT addressed all listed objectives identified in the call FP7-REGPOT-2007-3:
1. Reinforcement of the research infrastructure in the region by establishment of the Chromatography laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry (UKIM, Skopje) and the food control laboratory at the Department of Chemistry at (FSM-S, Nis, Serbia) as two distinguished research institutions in the region by enlarging their material and human capacity, networking them with other developed European research laboratories for exchange of experience thus facilitating high quality research in the region of WBC.
2. Developed partnerships with existing centres of excellence established in the Member States on one hand and the WBCs and the EU's convergence regions on the other.
3. The foreseen networking within this project facilitated the communication between the centres having similar scientific interest in the country, in the WBC region and wider in the region.
This project improved the exchange of personnel and of research results by hosting scientists from abroad for teaching, training and / or research activities, which already has, but also will continue to the expected results as follows:
- Improved and reinforced regional scientific cooperation - in quality and quantity and encourage the regional partners to join the European research trends.
Enhanced participation in the FP7 - improving the material resources brought more active cooperative activities and/or joint RTD proposals with the corresponding research centres. The exchange of personnel within this project was demonstrated as a starting point towards joining the European research area. Two FP7 proposals were submitted in the meantime.
Spreading excellence
The results expected from this project are strengthening the material and human capacity for scientific research in the area of food analysis (development of analytical methodology for analysis of organic analytes in various matrices, primarily antioxidants in foods) by equipping laboratories with sophisticated instrumentation and simultaneously training the personnel for its productive exploitation in research. This way, a very competent research and development personnel can be created, which can then contribute to spreading excellence in other research labs in the academic and business community and thus contribute to the development of the country. As a direct consequence of their involvement in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project and knowledge and experience obtained, four young researchers got permanent positions at faculties and Research and development (R&D) unit in industry.
Disseminating knowledge
The overall plan for dissemination of knowledge within this project included giving general information on the Chromatography laboratory at the Institute of chemistry (UKIM) and the Food control laboratory at the Department of Chemistry (FSM-S) by organising open days, workshops and a conference. These data were presented to the interested parties through:
- The project website regularly updated with project activities.
- The open days for welcoming in the labs was organised for colleagues scientists working in food science at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food, Agricultural institutes, Faculty of Pharmacy, as well as professionals working in laboratories for food quality control environmental, clinical laboratories, and also food producers in the food industry and SMEs, and other companies dealing with various aspects of modern analytical chemistry.
- Workshops for presenting the basics and advanced applications of the new equipment purchased within the project for students, researchers and professionals working in laboratories for food quality control, environmental, clinical laboratories.
- The final conference was organised for making a summary of the results and their presentation to the wider community as well as for getting together research groups interested in future joint research in the area of food quality characterisation.
- Companies were a special target with emphasis on wineries because the first systematic studies on the phenolic composition of wines and grapes from the region of FYROM and Serbia were performed within the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project and are already published in the scientific literature (still more results to follow). Contacts with wineries were established and possibility for research and development projects in future discussed.
- An arrangement for future collaboration was established with the researchers from the R&D Institute of the biggest regional pharmaceutical company (Alkaloid AD Skopje), who expressed interest in collaboration for research in stability studies of pharmaceutically active substances and preparations. One young researcher, who was involved in the CHROMLAB-ANTIOXIDANT project (Marina Kajdsanoska) got a position of a researcher in this R&D Institute by the end of the project, and the contract for collaboration between the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Alkaloid AD is in preparation.
Since agriculture is the main source of existence for this area and, the improvement of the infrastructure for characterisation of food quality has a major contribution to raising the public awareness on the importance of assessing the quality of food during production and processing. Establishing these regional centres of excellence for development of methodology for assessing food quality will enable establishing the system of quality control necessary for food export in developed countries.
Moreover, the experience gained in using liquid chromatographic and spectroscopic methods in food quality characterisation within this project will further increase the knowledge and possibilities for using instrumentation and scientific methods at national and regional level not only in the area food quality, but also in other related fields where sophisticated laboratory instrumentation is used for interdisciplinary research such as nutrition, biotechnology, environmental science, molecular biology, pharmacology.
List of websites: Project website: http://chromlab.pmf.ukim.edu.mk