Strahil Hristov Berkov

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosysthem Research at the Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

My research interests are focused on the chemistry, in vitro biosynthesis and bioactivity of alkaloids from the Amaryllidaceae and Solanaceae plants. 

Developing the mass spectrometry of the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids allowed me to detect a number of new natural compounds. Some of them, after isolation, showed higher activity than the approved drugs.  However, often the plant material for extraction of the new or bioactive compounds from rare or endangered plants was insufficient, which stimulates me to look for solutions in plant biotechnology and later in hydroponics. Now I enjoy working in projects extending our knowledge on the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids.

Berkov S, Osorio E, Viladomat F. Bastida J, 2020. Chemodiversity, chemotaxonomy and chemoecology of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, In: Knlker H.-J., (Ed.), The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology, Vol. 83, Elsevier Inc, San Diego, pp. 113.
Berkov S, Georgieva L, Sidjimova B, Bastida J, 2022. Evaluation of Hippeastrum papilio (Ravenna) Van Scheepen potential as a new industrial source of galanthamine. Ind Crops Prod 178, 114619.
Berkov S, Denev R, Sidjimova B, Zarev Y, Shkondrov A, Torras-Claveria L, Viladomat F, Bastida J, 2023. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of some homolycorine-type Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 37, e9506.
Haist G, Sidjimova B, Yankova-Tsvetkova E, Nikolova M, Denev R, Semerdjieva I, Bastida J, Berkov S, 2024. Metabolite profiling and histochemical localization of alkaloids in Hippeastrum papilio (Ravena) van Scheepen. J Plant Physiol 296, 154223.