Reflecting on GA 2025: Insights from the International Congress on Natural Products in Naples
Last week, our team had the privilege of attending the 73rd International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), jointly organized with the Italian Society of Phytochemistry (SIF) in Naples from 31 August to 3 September 2025. Hosted at the scenic Royal Continental Hotel, this marked GA’s return to Italy after two decades, bringing researchers from across the globe together in a city rich in history, art, and scientific inspiration.
Key Topics at GA 2025 Congress: From Green Extraction to Botanical Safety
Across three days, nine core thematic tracks explored contemporary challenges and breakthroughs in natural product research. These included chemistry and bioactivity of natural products, cutting-edge technologies in drug discovery and formulation, green extraction and circular bioeconomy, metabolomics and quality control, fungi as medicinal agents, essential oils, ethnopharmacology, botanical safety, and herbal products from concept to market.
Advances in Natural Product Research: Isolation, Bioactivity, and Chromatography
We hand-picked keynote sessions and poster presentations closely aligned with our interests. A recurring emphasis was on the targeted isolation and analytical characterisation of bioactive metabolites—from both plant and microbial extracts, for therapeutic applications such as anticancer, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anti-obesity uses.
Several studies highlighted bio-assay-guided fractionation techniques and advanced chromatography methods, including preparative HPLC and even CPC, underscoring the evolving toolkit in this domain.
Our Contribution: CPC Applications for Alkaloid Remediation
Our own contribution, a poster detailing pyrrolizidine alkaloid remediation from red clover extract, sparked engaging conversations with peers about both our specific findings and broader uses of CPC. These interactions opened promising avenues for follow-up collaborations.
Looking Ahead: Innovation in Natural Product and CPC Research
Overall, GA 2025 was more than an academic gathering, it was a vivid demonstration of the dynamic future of natural product research. It reaffirmed that novel approaches in extract purification and bioactive compound isolation remain fertile ground for innovation. We look forward to building on these insights and fostering new collaborations in this vibrant scientific community.