Distinction of the Division II of Biological and Agricultural Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences for the team of prof. Bartoszek-Pączkowska | Faculty of Chemistry at the Gdańsk University of Technology

This year, five Divisions of the Polish Academy of Sciences awarded researchers for outstanding scientific achievements. Individual scientists and research groups were appreciated.

Every year, the Academy's Divisions award prizes for outstanding achievements and outstanding scientific papers. They are received by researchers employed in Polish units. Candidates are proposed by the Discipline Councils of parent scientific units, and recommended by members of the Academy and research and problem-oriented committees. The winners and laureates are selected by each of the PAN divisions.

The research team from the Faculty of Chemistry of Gdańsk University of Technology, composed of: prof. Agnieszka Bartoszek-Pączkowska, PhD, DSc, Eng., Izabela Koss-Mikołajczyk, PhD, Eng., and Monika Kuczyńska, PhD, Eng. was awarded for an outstanding research achievement aimed at explaining the observation that food of plant origin containing bioactive antioxidant phytochemicals has a better health-promoting effect than those substances isolated from plants.

Studies of bioactive antioxidant phytochemicals conducted for several years have shown that the plant matrix and other bioactive compounds present in plants affect the final biological activity. This means that consuming dietary supplements containing compounds isolated from fruits or vegetables does not bring the same benefits to our body as eating those fruits or vegetables from which the substances were extracted.

Thus, commonly used dietary supplements containing antioxidant compounds isolated from plants, being foodstuffs for which documentation is not required (as in the case of drugs), may not show the results declared by the manufacturers, proposed on the basis of studies described in the scientific literature and conducted for individual substances. The team's key achievement is proving that plant-derived substances act differently in different configurations, which makes it impossible to predict the effects of specific ingredient systems without medical research.

Congratulations on your success and good luck in raising funds for further research!