Author: Danijela Poljuha

Our new project RECIPE FOR SUSTAINABLE CO-LIFE – INVASIVE SPECIES AS MEDICINE AND FOOD submitted to the ADRIS Foundation competition for donations has been selected for funding! 🎉😁

This project will bring together excellent biologists, oenologists, agronomists, gastronomists, chefs, designers, artists, beekeepers, tourist boards and citizens in search of quality answers to today’s challenges. The project has a scientific, but also an educational component aimed at the public.

Its goals are:

1. Investigate whether selected invasive alien plant species in Croatia have antitumor activity and whether they can benefit human health;

2. Promote the use of invasive species in food as a form of new ecosystem services that these species can provide, but also as an innovative form of controlling their spread and;

3. Raise public awareness of the importance of sustainable management of invasive species and adaptation to sustainable coexistence with them, as one of the scenarios for a healthy and balanced future.

Through simple activities such as being in nature, talking and cooking that unites the traditional and autochthonous with the new and still unexplored, we want to encourage social awareness, initiative and responsibility and a holistic approach to life in a new and changing environment and to that way to raise environmental standards in the local community. As environmental protection is a universal value and aspiration, and creativity knows no borders, we expect the spread of positive examples and the promotion of Croatian innovation beyond our borders.

Wish us luck in achieving these goals, and if you want to join us, you’re welcome!

3IN1 PROJECTS + SCIENTIFIC STORYTELLING + AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) IN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Summer Conference of Croatian Chemical Society Rijeka-Pula 2024

The results of the collaboration between three projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation were presented to the public for the first time at the Summer Conference of  Croatian Chemical Society Rijeka-Pula, held in Rijeka on September 5 and 6, 2024. The leader of the NATURALLY project, Danijela Poljuha, presented the projects slightly differently.

New Forms of Collaboration

We believe in the power of collaboration and know that we are stronger together. That’s why, in 2023, we signed a cooperation agreement between three projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. Three institutions (the Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, the University North, and the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science) signed the agreement to strengthen research and dissemination potential during the implementation of research. The agreement pertains to the following projects:

“Nature as an ALLY: Alien Invasive Plant Species as a Source of Pharmaceuticals – NATURALLY” (IP-2020-02-6899), led by Dr Danijela Poljuha “Indirect Impact of Global Warming on Mammalian Physiological Parameters through Feeding Plants Grown at High Temperatures – TEMPHYS” (IP-2020-02-7585), led by Dr Ivana Šola “The Role of Biflavonoids in Plants: Ginkgo biloba L. as a Model System – GinkoBiFlav” (UIP-2019-04-1018), led by Dr Dunja Šamec.

For more information about WHO, HOW, and WHY, please check out our poster.

 The Power of Visuals in Science Communication

If you looked at the poster, you probably noticed an unusual graphical representation of the collaboration created by Dr Kristina Grozić. At first glance, it may not seem like it, but it’s complex and contains several stories within a story. Scan the Visualization QR code in the center of the poster or read about our inspiration here.

Augmented Reality (AR) in Science Communication

This was an opportunity to test new tools that we believe are the future of science communication. We conducted a small experiment with AR on our poster. You can try it out, too. 

Scan the code next to the poster or click the link, point your phone at the poster, and enjoy! There are only two scenes (effects), which switch by clicking the animated arrows.

#scicomm #outofthebox #lovescience #creativity

I have always believed that every manuscript has its own life and destiny, unfolding independently of its author, and sometimes even pulling the author into its currents. This is particularly true for some manuscripts, and scientific manuscripts are no exception. Sometimes, the story flows smoothly, starting from an idea that quickly develops through text that grows and evolves almost by itself, with all co-authors contributing in a positive and enthusiastic atmosphere. Almost imperceptibly, the process reaches the publication phase, which passes almost unnoticed, where reviewers and editors recognize and understand the work, providing their benevolent and constructive input to its quality, and soon the publication sees the light of day, to the general satisfaction of everyone involved in the process.

This was not the case here. The stubborn manuscript entity had its own character and vision of creation, eluding control, resisting, hiding, wriggling, waiting, and influencing us in all sorts of ways throughout the process. It tirelessly tested our patience, persistence, systematic approach, discipline, and character at every step. It’s hard to find a reason for this, and allow us to admit, we stopped looking for one long ago. We explained it with one word – karma 😉

But today, we can proudly say – we have reached the end of this part of the story and are letting the publication continue its virtual life independently. Now it is a completely different text, and after all the revisions and changes, it has almost no common points with the initial version. This is, therefore, an opportunity to highlight all the good, because no story is black or white, it’s always somewhere among 50 shades of gray 😉

Or yellow 😊

So, let’s start with the yellow fields of Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) in beautiful Istria, where this species grows invasively but also melliferously. And phytochemically fascinating.

This is where we started, asking ourselves: Where does this species grow, both invasively and natively? What processes underlie its invasiveness? Can its phytochemical profile be linked to the biological activity of its parts? Can the new reality of “new ecosystems” where biological invasions are inevitable be somehow redirected to work for us, providing us with some beneficial services? We were particularly interested in ecosystem services such as using invasive plant species, in this specific case Canadian goldenrod, as raw materials for the pharmaceutical and medical industries, as a source of natural herbicides and pesticides for agricultural use, as biofuels, and many others. We also wondered, can these services be the basis for a bioeconomy and how to evaluate this for a particular species?

Find the answers to these and many other questions in our new publication, published in juournal Plants. This is a review paper in which we have tried to systematize the latest insights into biological invasions using the example of one of the alien invasive plant species, in the context of the present day, where the sustainable coexistence of species becomes an inevitable imperative.

For easier immersion in the text, here is a wonderful, artistically inspired graphic summary – the work of our talented colleague Kristina Grozic, PhD.

At the scientific conference 2nd European Symposium on Phytochemicals in Medicine and Food – 2-EuSPMF, held from June 3 to 6, 2024 in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), dr. Danijela Poljuha held an invited lecture titled UNVEILING NATURE’S ALLIES: INVASIVE PLANTS AS SOURCES OF PHYTOPHARMACEUTICALS. In the lecture, the results of the analysis of the biological activity of extracts of foreign invasive plant species – Jerusalem artichoke, Tree of heaven, Canadian goldenrod and Black locust – and the potential of their use as phytopharmaceuticals were presented.

This international meeting was organized by the University of Sarajevo, the Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Ingeb), the Association of Geneticists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (GENuBiH) and the International Association of Dietetic Nutrition and Safety (IADNS) with the aim of presenting the latest achievements in the field of phytochemicals in medicine and food.

In the agricultural show “Colors of the Soil,” we presented the results of our research conducted as part of the NATURALLY project in a secgment dedicated to the black locust. This was also an opportunity to tell the story of how this species arrived in Europe. Although invasive, black locust is also useful, and you can learn how we can utilize it by listening to the report.

On Monday, May 20, on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Polytechnic in Rijeka, the Mini-Symposium SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND RURAL TOURISM 2024 was held. The event was organized in partnership with the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development of PGŽ from Stara Sušica and Primorsko-goranska Kašetica to promote sustainable development in rural areas.

As one of the four invited lecturers, the lead of the NATURALLY project, Danijela Poljuha, presented the project results. Her lecture “Can invasive species be a source of valuable bioactive phytochemicals?” emphasized the importance of exploring the potential of invasive species as providers of ecosystem services. This approach could model the sustainable coexistence of species in the face of climate change.

The symposium offered valuable insights from various speakers, covering topics such as organic farming, recognizing certified organic products, the contributions of Rudolf Steiner, the principles of biodynamic production, and experiences from the Garden of Eden, or what life looks like when you “whisper to tomatoes” and follow your life dream. The audience engaged with numerous questions, making the event both informative and interactive.

From ❤️, we thank the Polytechnic in Rijeka for the invitation and the opportunity to grow in knowledge! Read more about this event here.

PRESENTATION OF THE NATURALLY PROJECT AS PART OF THE EXHIBITION “WHAT WOULD NATURE TELL US IF WE ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?”

Cooperation between science and art is one of the recent trends in the popularization of science. We tried our hand at this scientific-artistic expression with an experiment entitled “Symbiosis of worlds: art and science in dialogue – Coexistence with invasive species”. As part of the group exhibition on the topic of planetary interconnections “What would nature tell us if we asked the right questions?“, in collaboration with the curator Ivana Meštrov and the Art Pavilion in Zagreb, in the Forum Gallery. On April 15, 2024, Ph.D. Danijela Poljuha presented the results of the scientific research project “NATURE as an ALLIANCE: Foreign invasive plant species as a source of pharmaceuticals – NATURALLY” financed by the Croatian Science Foundation, with a visual interpretation of the topic through the artistic intervention of Elena Poljuha, a 2nd year student of Graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts University of Zagreb.

In the dialogue between science and art, through a popular-scientific lecture accompanied by an artistic performance, we looked for answers to global questions posed by the inevitability of species coexistence: Is the key to ecosystem balance and biodiversity conservation in the use of invasive species? Can we use invasive species as providers of new ecosystem services?

Can invasive species be a source of valuable bioactive phytochemicals? In this, slightly different way, in the gap between science and art, we wanted to bring the results of the research carried out as part of the project closer to the general public. We would like to thank the Art Pavilion and all collaborators for this exceptional opportunity to broaden our horizons and put research into a broader context of today.

(Photo: Jovica Drobnjak)