Keynote Lecture - Srećko Valić

KEYNOTE LECTURE

Srećko Valić

University of Rijeka, Croatia

Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed oil is an important food product with positive effects on human health due to its rich composition of bioactive compounds. It contains more than 60% unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A, C, E, and K, as well as B-complex vitamins, together with micronutrients and minerals such as magnesium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, copper, and selenium. Although it is still less recognized compared to olive or sunflower oil, its consumption is increasing, and pumpkin seed extracts can often be found as dietary supplements.

Pumpkin seed oil has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems and exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and hepatoprotective properties. The first part of the presentation will provide an overview of previous in vitro and in vivo studies confirming some of these claims, while the second part will present the results of the latest research focused on the antioxidant power of pumpkin seed oil and by-products generated during seed processing, with special emphasis on the influence of storage conditions of the seeds as the raw material and the oil as the final product.

Srećko Valić graduated in Physics and Chemistry from the University of Rijeka, Croatia, in 1986, and obtained a Master of Science degree in Physical Chemistry and Radiochemistry from the University of Zagreb in 1989. He defended his PhD thesis in 1993 at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, where he currently works as a Senior Research Advisor. Since 1999, he has also been partially employed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, where he actually holds the position of Tenured Full Professor. He spent three years conducting postdoctoral research in France at the Institut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg, and at the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud as a fellow of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and the French Government. He also spent one year at the Institut für Makromolekulare Chemie, University of Freiburg, under fellowships awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. In 1996, he was awarded the Physical Chemistry Award of the Croatian Chemical Society, and in 2022 and 2024 he received recognition as Best Professor, awarded by students. In 2012, he was appointed Erudite Professor at the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India. His primary field of research is the molecular dynamics, structure, and phase behavior of polymers and their composites, investigated using spectroscopic techniques (NMR, EPR, and IR) and thermal analysis methods (DSC and TGA). In addition, he applies these research techniques to determine the antioxidant power, antioxidant activity, and antioxidant capacity of various food products, with the aim of assessing their impact on the preservation of human health.