Attendance at the XXVllth International Conference on Polyphenols and 8th Tannin Conference

Abstract

This report provides a summary of the XXVIIth International Conference on Polyphenols, jointly hosted with the 8th Tannin Conference held in Nagoya, Japan from 2 to 6 September 2014 and the outcomes of attendance at this event by Angela Sparrow, a fourth year PhD candidate from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture at the University of Tasmania

Summary

The Conference provided the opportunity to recognise the complex nature of polyphenols across many aspects of biology including their impact on human health. Of particular note were the complex analytical tools used to extract and identify polyphenols which include: high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) gas chromatography (GC) and Mass Spectroscopy (MS), depolymerization with acid in the presence of a nucleophile, and precipitation with proteins or methylated polysaccharides. These tools provide essential information regarding the behaviour of polyphenolic compounds under varying conditions of pH and temperature and their interaction with proteins and polysaccharides in vitro has broadened my understanding of research being undertaken across the sector while giving both perspective and significance to my area of applied research.