Interview with the Inventor – Professor Alexey Tyrkov

Interview with Prof. Alexey Tyrkov, Dean of the Chemical Department of ASU, Supervisor of the research project “Lophanthus Natural Honey Containing Glycyrrhizic Acid”, Director of the Green Chemistry Research & Educational Center.

– Professor, could you tell us about the object of your research?

– Activities that our Green Chemistry Center performs relate to obtaining new materials based on “green” technologies. Our research objects are plants of both endemic origin (that is, vegetation growing in Astrakhan Region) and introduced origin (that is, plants that are cultivated in Astrakhan Region, which is not their homeland). Lophanthus anisatus is one of such plants: we’ve been working with it for about a decade.

– What are the valuable qualities of honey that you extract from Lophanthus anisatus?

– Once we signed an agreement with the National Research Institute of Vegetable Farming & Melon Cultivation, we conducted a research to extract essential oil from Lophanthus anisatus. This plant produces much oil and honey – more than a lime tree. Honey from Lophanthus anisatus contains a large amount of biologically active substance: amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates (fructose, glucose), which means that its caloric content is high. It also has bactericidal and medicinal prophylactic properties. As the concentration of carbohydrates is low (under 1.5 %), this honey is recommended for people suffering from diabetes mellitus. Its impact upon the nervous system is favorable; so medicine applies it to treat a number of diseases. The glycyrrhizic acid we add to this honey exerts an expectorant and synergetic influence; in particular, it improves regeneration of tissues, contributes to normalization of water-salt metabolism in case of ulcerous diseases.

Thus, the development of this project made it possible for us to obtain new foodstuff with enhanced gustatory, aromatic, and organoleptic properties; the shelf life of this honey is longer thanks to adding a certain amount of fructose.

– Who developed this product?

– Besides me, our team of researchers includes Professor Anatoliy Velikorodov, who heads our Chair of Organic, Inorganic, & Pharmaceutical Chemistry; two Associate Professors of the same Chair – Vyacheslav Kovalyov and Svyatoslav Nosachyov; Professor Mikhail Puchkov, Director of the National Research Institute of Vegetable Farming & Melon Cultivation; our postgraduate students Mohammed Ahmed Abdelrakhim and Valentina Ionova.

– Are there any analogues of your product?

– Valuable qualities of Lophanthus anisatus honey are well-known, but there are no analogues whose composition would be similar to our product.

– What are your plans to make this project a commercial product?

– Astrakhan Region has a favorable climate to cultivate Lophanthus anisatus: this plant loves sun, but it requires regular watering, which is expensive. We are searching for investors now.

Interviewed by T.Yu. Gavrilkina (the Web Resources Information Support Directorate of ASU)

May 05, 2016

Translated by E.I. Glinchevskiy (the Center of Translation Studies & Conference Interpreting “ASTLINK” of ASU)