Dr. Danilo Escobar-Avello, postdoctoral researcher at the Technological Development Unit (UDT) and the National Centre of Excellence for the Wood Industry (CENAMAD), recently participated in the 17th World Congress on Polyphenols and Applications. In addition, during his visit to Italy, he was invited to the Università degli Studi del Sannio in Benevento, where he presented his talk on Extraction and encapsulation of phenolic compounds from vine shoots: Applications in functional foods and biomaterials.

Vine shoots, a valuable by-product of viticulture, are a rich source of bioactive phenolic compounds with diverse industrial applications. Dr Escobar-Avello shared more than ten years of advances in extraction and encapsulation processes, as well as the development of commercial prototypes in sectors such as the food industry and biomaterials, all under a biorefinery and circular economy approach.

On his participation, he commented: ‘I was privileged to share our research on the extraction and encapsulation of phenolic compounds from vine shoots, a valuable by-product of viticulture. For more than a decade, together with a multidisciplinary team from the UDT, the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Concepción and the Polyphenol Research Group at the University of Barcelona, we have been working on the development of these processes and products, with promising applications in functional foods and biomaterials, contributing to a more sustainable circular economy.’

Dr Escobar-Avello also underlined the importance of international collaboration: ‘International collaboration has been key to bring this lab project to pilot scale and explore its industrial potential. It is exciting to see how joint efforts can transform by-products into high-value sustainable solutions! We look forward to building and strengthening ties with the Università degli Studi del Sannio.’

Other activities in Italy:

  • Visit to the company Dermofarma Italia, specialised in cosmetics and nutritional supplements.
  • Participation in various congress sessions on polyphenol applications.