Interview with the Inventor – Professor Alexey Tyrkov

Interview with Prof. Alexey Tyrkov, Dean of the Chemical Department of ASU, Chief of the Green Chemistry Research & Educational Center, Supervisor of the research project “Method to Obtain Oil from Seeds of Robinia Pseudoacacia & Oil Composition”.

– What became the object of your research?

– Our Green Chemistry Research & Educational Center conducts research related to obtainment of extractive substance from various biological objects. Those objects are both endemic plants (growing in Astrakhan Region) and introduced ones (imported from other regions and areas). One of our researches was to develop techniques to obtain oil from Robinia Pseudoacacia. This plant is widely spread in Astrakhan Region; its biological mass is large; thus, it produced numerous seeds.

– What technology did you apply?

– We obtained oil with the traditional method – by extracting it, by applying organic solvents. The technology we developed proved that one could obtain up to 6 % of oil from those vegetative parts. We researched its chemical composition and carried out initial trials of its biological activity.

– What are the properties of the oil you obtained?

– This oil displays antimicrobial and antifungal activity; it is its positive feature. Yet, it has some negative features: it displays allergenicity towards human skin. Such oil is applied in Pharmacy as a perfume, as a solvent to create an environment; it is used in Cosmeceuticals and in production of household chemical goods. Its smell is nice; it has good organoleptic properties.

– What are the prospects of your research?

– We are planning to switch to another technique of oil obtainment; we will apply supercritical fluid extraction. We shall see if oil is obtainable by applying this technique; we’ll analyze its chemical composition and allergenicity.

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

Translated by E.I. Glinchevskiy (REC “Caspian Higher School of Interpreting & Translation” of ASU)

November 29, 2017