Message from the President 2024

Dear Members of the Groupe Polyphénols,

Already almost eight months are gone since the end of the ICP2023 in Nantes. This was a major event and the meeting was one of the most successful ICPs with 340 participants from 40 nationalities, and an exciting scientific program including 14 plenary lectures, 87 oral communications and 175 posters. The 2023 edition was the first one organized in person mode since the ICP2018 of Madison, and the social events took even more importance than usual. Everyone remembers our lunch time with a very efficient and perfectly organized table service within the allotted time without impacting the planned scientific schedule, the apple juice tasting, and last but not least the unforgettable gala dinner and its surprises.  Warm thanks to Dr. Sylvain Guyot and his organization team. Following the ICP2023, e-vol. 2 of Polyphenols Communications is now out. Still related to the ICP2023, a special issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (JAFC) will gather the manuscripts related to the Opening Conference, the plenary lectures together with selected oral communications & invited contributors. The manuscripts are currently under the JAFC reviewing process. In parallel, Volume 8 of Recent Advances in Polyphenols Research (RAPR), which is related to the ICP2021 of Turku, has been released in 2023. May I recall you that volume 8 and all other RAPR Volumes are available to all ICP participants and Groupe Polyphénols members at 50% discount on Wiley website.

The third Webinar in Polyphenols Research was offered on March 8th 2023 and chaired by our Vice-president Dr. Aude Watrelot on the topic of “Polyphenols and Food and Beverage Quality”: Dr. Catherine Renard (INRAE Nantes) gave a presentation on “Polyphenols from fruit to juice: how variability is modulated by processing” and Dr. Elsa Brandao familiarized us with the topic of “Quality and mouthfeel properties: a tricky relationship in wine”. This webinar attracted the most numerous audiences among the three that have been offered so far with 658 registrations and 299 attendees from 54 countries. The recordings of the webinar are available on the YouTube channel of the group.

This 2024 year will be rich in events as well with three planned Webinars in Polyphenols Research.  The first webinar is planned in March, on the topic of “Biogenesis and biosynthesis in plants”. The second webinar will be about “Metabolomics” in July, and the third webinar will be in November, focusing on “Nutrition and Health”.

Furthermore, we are happy to announce that our colleague and member of the board of the Groupe Polyphénols Dr. Richard Blackburn will organize the 11th International Workshop on Anthocyanins and Betalains (IWA&B 2024), which will be held at the University of Leeds from 17-19 September 2024. Registration and abstract submission are open. The accepted abstracts will be published as e-vol. 3 of “Polyphenols Communications”. Be sure you mark your calendar.

Finallly, after the very successful virtual ICP2021 session in Turku, next ICP meeting will again take place in Turku, Finland, July 7-10, 2025, this time in person. It will be organized by our colleague Prof. Juha-Pekka Salminen and his team. Please be sure you already book these dates in your calendars.

I encourage you to regularly visit the Website of the Groupe Polyphénols, and our accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.

I hope I shall have the opportunity to interact with you in 2024, either at the occasion of one of our online webinars, or physically in Leeds at the IWA&B 2024.

Sincerely,

Denis Barron