Editorial

Dear Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure and honour to hold the 59th International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research on September 4–9, 2011 in Antalya, Turkey. This congress series has been organized annually since 1953 and has become the most important and popular congress in Europe in its respected field. It is the first time the congress is organized in Turkey. Turkey is a large peninsula bridging the east and the west at the junction of two continents and has been a passage way between Europe and Asia and even Africa. Due to its geographic location Turkey has been a melting pot of civilizations, cultures and nations, and is full of history and home to diverse traditions. It is a land of many firsts since history starts here. Thanks to its climatically and phytogeographically unique position and its transect ranging from sea level (0 m) to the peak of the Ararat mountain (5137 m) the flora of Turkey is rich and diverse with over 12.000 flowering plant taxa recorded of which 33% are endemic. Anatolia is the land of Galenus of Pergamon and Dioscorides of Anavarza. Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician in the Roman Army had written his famous Materia Medica in the 1st century AD. His birthplace Anavarza is in Kozan, Adana in Southern Turkey not too far from Antalya.

The 59th Congress has attracted global attention and there are participants from all parts of the world. Its scientific level is high thanks to the efforts of the Scientific Committee. High rate of rejects were due to the meticulous work of the reviewers who gave it time and effort to keep the scientific level as high as possible.

Main topics of the Congress are as follows:

• New Trends in Pharmacognosy

• Traditional and Natural Medicines

• Leead Finding from Nature

• Antimicrobials – What's next?

• Endophytes – Importance in Pharmacognosy

• Natural Immune Enhancers

• Nutraceuticals, Cosmeceuticals, Functional Foods – Prevention of Metabolic Diseases

• Essential Oils – Analysis, Bioactivities, Uses, Therapeutical Potential

• Biotechnology and Nanobiotechnology

• Advances in the Analysis of Natural Products

Ten plenary and two keynote lectures will be presented by distinguished scientists. 73 short lectures will be presented in three paralel sessions. Numerous researchers will be able to report their research findings in 900 poster presentations. In addition, young researchers will be able to present their papers at two paralel Young Researchers Workshops. There will also be three more Permanent Committee Workshops of the GA on regulatory affairs, pharmacology, agriculture and quality of natural products. An additional workshop will be held on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). 31 lectures will be presented in the workshops. All in all over 1100 scientific presentation will be made at the congress.

I would like to thank the Executive and the Advisory Board members of the GA for their help and encouragement during the preparatory stages of the Congress. I wish to extend my grateful thanks to Georg Thieme Verlag KG for processing such a huge number of abstracts in a short time. My special thanks go to the members of the Organizing Committee and to the Congress Organizing Company FTS who have done their utmost to offer you a successful, satisfying and enjoyable congress.

I wish you all a fruitful congress which I hope will strengten old friendships and develop new ones in a friendly, scientific and cultural atmosphere. I hope everybody enjoys their stay in sunny Antalya, gets the opportunity to discover hidden beauties of the region and Turkey, and takes home new scientific knowledge and unforgettable memories.

Prof. Dr. K. Hüsnü Can Başer

President of the 59th International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research