The announcement is a new international research funding initiative created by Polyphenols Applications and Iprona to encourage new experimental work using standardized polyphenol extracts.
The total financial support is €5,000 , distributed as two Research Seed Grants of €2,000 each and one Iprona Innovation Award of €1,000 . Selected projects will also receive standardized Iprona research extracts. These details are already published on the official call page.
Projects can investigate ElderCraft® black elderberry extract or CherryCraft® tart cherry extract . Eligible scientific areas include microbiome research, healthy ageing, immunity, inflammation, recovery, metabolism, mitochondrial function, bioavailability and other emerging applications of polyphenols. In vitro, ex vivo, in vivo, mechanistic, metabolomics and translational approaches are welcome.
The call is open worldwide to researchers working in universities, hospitals, research institutes and recognized scientific organizations , with particular encouragement for postdoctoral researchers, young investigators and early-career scientists seeking pilot funding.
The central scientific message should be that relatively modest seed funding can enable researchers to test a hypothesis, obtain preliminary data and establish the basis for a larger research project .
The 19th World Congress on Polyphenols Applications will take place in Málaga, Spain, on October 8–9, 2026 .
The initiative is being launched within the international Polyphenols Applications scientific community, whose 19th World Congress will bring more than 200 participants to Málaga on October 8–9, 2026.
The congress scientific scope includes polyphenols in nutrition and health, microbiota, brain and metabolic health, inflammation, precision nutrition and sustainable innovation.
Iprona develops standardized functional polyphenol and anthocyanin extracts, including ElderCraft® and CherryCraft® . Its Craft line uses standardized berry-derived extracts intended for scientific and health-related applications.
Iprona is the research funding and standardized-material partner for this initiative.
The Polyphenols Applications Scientific Board highlighted the importance of supporting research at the earliest stages of scientific development:
“Small research grants can be decisive at the earliest stage of a project: they allow a researcher to test an original hypothesis, generate the first data and determine whether a new scientific direction deserves larger investigation.”
Researchers worldwide are invited to submit their proposals by November 30, 2026 . The winners are expected to be announced in January 2027 .
Applications and scientific inquiries should be sent to:
innovation@polyphenols-site.com
For media inquiries:
Secretariat
Polyphenols Applications
polyphenols@polyphenols-site.com
The research funding and standardized research materials described in this call are provided by Iprona. The initiative is organized in collaboration with Polyphenols Applications.