ISC 2026 Update: Analysis of Food and Natural Products

The morning of Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at ISC 2026 in Prague, Czech Republic, kicked off with an illuminating session focusing on the challenges and solutions of analyzing chemically complex natural and food-derived materials.^1,2 The session was moderated by Gertrud Morlock from Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany, and Valérie Pichon from ESPCI Paris, France.

Alejandro Cifuentes from the National Research Council of Spain (CSIC), Foodomics Laboratory, CIAL, Spain, opened the session with Comprehensive Chemical Characterization and Neuroprotective Evaluation of Green Extracts Obtained from Different Natural Matrices, drawing on his group's extensive experience in foodomics and the study of natural compounds and their biological effects. His presentation focused on extracts from Pentaclethra macroloba (pracaxi) and Ferula persica var. latisecta, combining sustainable extraction techniques with chemical profiling and biological assays.

The extracts were obtained by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), then characterized by gas chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC–QTOF MS) and liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC–QTOF MS/MS). Carbon dioxide extraction of pracaxi oil yielded more than 220 detectable compounds, and analysis of the residual plant material turned up further compound classes, among them triterpenoid saponins and spermidine phenolamides. For F. persica, the team reported 222 compounds spanning 66 chemical subclasses across the aerial and root tissues, including hydroxycoumarins, flavones, methoxyphenols, and sesquiterpenoids.

As well as chemical profiling, the extracts were screened biologically using in vitro assays, cell studies, and blood–brain barrier models to investigate possible neuroprotective activity. Cifuentes emphasized that the work illustrated an integrated process in which extraction, chemical characterization, and biological testing are treated as linked stages rather than separate exercises.

Natasha Damiana Spadafora from the University of Ferrara, Italy, presented a talk entitled Liquid Chromatography Strategies for Metabolomic Profiling and Preparative Purification of Metabolites from Complex Plant Matrices, highlighting the analytical challenges posed by the chemical diversity of plant systems. Primary and secondary metabolites span wide concentration ranges and display markedly different physicochemical properties, making comprehensive profiling of complex botanical matrices difficult, according to Spadafora. The presentation focused on chromatographic strategies designed to improve coverage of plant secondary metabolites, combining complementary LC modes to enhance selectivity and reduce interference from complex matrices.

Beyond analytical profiling, Spadafora highlighted that preparative chromatography provided a complementary route for isolating metabolites of interest from these complex extracts, enabling their subsequent structural elucidation, biological evaluation, and use as reference materials. Attention was given to the isolation of high-value bioactive molecules using greener solvents and continuous purification workflows. These approaches demonstrate how combined chromatographic strategies can connect metabolomic discovery with preparative-scale isolation to improve metabolite recovery while supporting sustainable purification processes.

Nikoline Juul Nielsen from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, presented Chemical Fingerprinting of Shea Kernels: Quality, Antioxidants, and Health Benefits.

Nielsen reported that shea kernels are an important source of plant-based ingredients, while shea butter is increasingly valued as a sustainable alternative to conventional solid fats. She highlighted that traditional quality assessment, centered mainly on major storage lipids and their degradation, only provided a partial picture, because minor lipids and specialized metabolites may also influence processing behavior, stability, and potential nutritional value.

Nielsen's study combined complementary analytical platforms to capture this broader chemical profile. Lipids were examined using extraction, normal-phase solid-phase extraction (NP-SPE) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (RPLC–HRMS), enabling detection of low-abundance polar membrane lipids. Phenolic metabolites were investigated using multidimensional chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry and ion-mobility mass spectrometry. GC–MS was used to assess free fatty acids alongside tocopherols, sterols, and triterpenoids, including quantitative measurement of 18 triterpenoid esters using a limited number of reference standards.

The analytical data were linked to practical processing conditions through samples collected in Burkina Faso and Ghana, and controlled preservation experiments. Smoking, boiling, parboiling, soil-pit fermentation, drying, shelling, and storage were examined. The results indicated that processing history had a stronger influence on the kernel chemical profile than geographical origin alone. The work demonstrates how comprehensive chemical analysis can connect traditional processing practices with shea quality, stability, and the preservation of potentially valuable minor compounds.

Closing the session, Jean-Pierre Chervet from Antec Scientific, The Netherlands, presented From Rapid to High-Resolution Separation of Carbohydrates, covering advances in high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) column technology for carbohydrate analysis, describing columns built from monodisperse resin particles in 3 µm and 5 µm formats designed to deliver efficient anion-exchange separations. Applications discussed included the analysis of fructans, pectin-derived oligosaccharides, and lactose. The 5 µm columns supported high-resolution separations, including oligosaccharides with degrees of polymerization up to 90, while the 3 µm particles enabled faster runs. One notable application Chervet highlighted was verifying lactose content in products labeled lactose-free, demonstrating a direct role for HPAEC in food quality control.

References

1. ISC 2026 Program: https://www.czech-in.org/cmPortalv15/Searchable/isc26/config/normal#!sessiondetails/0000375360_0 (accessed 2026-09-08).
2. Holčapek, M.; Nováková, L. ISC 2026 Preview. LCGC International 2026, 3 (5), 34.