Ternopil State Medical University scholar trained at the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation
From September 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018 Assistant Professor of TSMU Department of Pharmacognosy and Medical Botany Solomiia Kozachok trained at the Department of Biochemistry and Plant Quality of the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation (Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, IUNG) in Puławy, Poland.
At the end of 2017, IUNG has received the highest category, A, in the official ranking of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland. This evaluation of research institutions and institutions of higher education is carried out every three years, taking into account research achievements, scientific potential of the staff and application of research results. The Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation is also top ten research institutions in Poland in the number of grants and funded projects.
IUNG is an active participant in the European Union’s framework program for science and innovation Horizon 2020, where it coordinates 5 projects. Its staff implements projects funded by MNiSW / NCN (Ministerstwo Nauki I Szkolnictwa Wyżsyege / Narodowe Centrum Nauki), seventh framework program, NCBiR (Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju) programs and POIR (Program Operacyjny Inteligentny Rozwój). The institution aims to achieve practical application of research developments, in particular, it has close cooperation with state and private entrepreneurs.
The Department of Biochemistry and Plant Quality (Zakład Biochemii i Jakości Plonów), where Dr. Kozachok trained, is a structural unit of the Innovation Center for Agricultural Research (Innowacyjno-Naukowe Centrum Badań Rolniczych) of IUNG. Each year its staff publishes 20-25 papers in journals with the IF factor of 2 to 4. In 2017 the team presented their findings at international meetings in China, Japan, Italy, Bulgaria as well as in national conferences. The Department of Biochemistry and Plant Quality collaborates with numerous research institutions and higher educational institutions in Poland, Western Europe and Turkey. The main directions of research are screening biological activity of plant isolates, fractions, extracts and describing chemical structure of new compounds. The laboratory also carries out private research for a fee, the amount of which depends on the complexity of the task and object. In 2017, they have completed 9 such orders for the analysis of amino acids in biological materials, quantitative content of saponins in seeds, food products, soybean oil and medicinal plants.
During the training at IUNG, Dr. Kozachok studied isolation of triterpene saponins and oxo-derivatives of the γ-pyron of plants of the genus Herniaria. She has also learned new instrumental methods of analysis: preparative HPLC, DAD / ELSD and UPLC-MS / MS. She mastered the methods of plant extract purification: solid phase extraction (SPE), flash chromatography using back and normal stationary phases.
On September 6-8, 2017, Dr. Kozachok presented results of her research on the structure of isolated saponins from smooth rupturewort (Herniaria glabra) at the IV Krajowa Konferencja Naturalne Substancje Roślinne Aspekty Strukturalne i Aplikacyjne in Puławy.
Presentation at the conference.
Conference participants.