Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research, Volume 8

Plant polyphenols are specialized metabolites that constitute one of the most common and widespread groups of natural products. They are essential plant components for adaptation to the environment and possess a large and diverse range of biological functions that provide many benefits to both plants and humans. Polyphenols, from their structurally simplest forms to their oligo/polymeric versions (i.e. tannins and lignins), are phytoestrogens, plant pigments, antioxidants, and structural components of the plant cell wall. The interactions between tannins and proteins are involved in plant defense against predation, cause astringency in foods and beverages, and affect the nutritional and health properties of human and animal food plants.

This eighth volume of the highly regarded Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research series is edited by Juha-Pekka Salminen, Kristiina Wähälä, Victor de Freitas, and Stéphane Quideau, and brings together chapters written by some of the leading experts working in the polyphenol sciences today. Topics covered include:

• Structure, reactivity and synthesis
• Bioactivity and bioavailability
• Metabolomics, targeted analysis and big data
• Quality control & standardization
• Biogenesis and functions in plants and ecosystems
• Biomaterials & applied sciences

Distilling the most recent and illuminating data available, this new volume is an invaluable resource for chemists, biochemists, plant scientists, pharmacognosists and pharmacologists, biologists, ecologists, food scientists and nutritionists.

Juha-Pekka Salminen, current Communication Manager of Groupe Polyphénols (board member since 2018), is Full Professor of Natural Compound Chemistry at the University of Turku, Finland. His research group specializes in analytical chemistry, chemical ecology and bioactivity studies of large polyphenols, with a focus on ellagitannins and proanthocyanidins and their distribution and significance in the plant kingdom.

Kristiina Wähälä, current Vice-President of the Groupe Polyphénols (2012–2014, 2018–2020) is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research is focused on synthesis, analysis, and isotopical labelling of plant polyphenols and their metabolites in humans in connection with drug discovery and binding studies to target enzymes. The focus on her chemical synthesis is on environmentally benign methods, green chemistry and biomass utilization.

Victor de Freitas, former President of the Groupe Polyphénols (2016–2021), is Full Professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal. His research on polyphenols include: structural characterization, chemical transformations in plants and foods during harvest and storage, influence on the sensory properties of foods (color, astringency and bitterness), and other biological properties.

Stéphane Quideau, former President of the Groupe Polyphénols (2008–2012), is Full Professor of Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry at the University of Bordeaux, France, and Senior Member of the “Institut Universitaire de France.” His laboratory is involved in research on plant polyphenol chemistry and chemical biology, with particular interests in ellagitannin chemical reactivity and synthesis, and in polyphenol–protein interactions.