The first promoters of the ISEO Medal were Giovanni Dugo and Luigi Mondello, Chairmen of the 35th ISEO organized in Giardini Naxos, Italy, in 2004.
The idea of the ISEO medal came up again in 2017, when the Permanent ISEO Scientific Committee has decided to create an honorary medal to be attributed every year to a scientist that during his scientific carrier has contributed significantly and innovatively to promote the development of the scientific knowledge in the essential oil field. The scientific topics to be considered for the award must illustrate one or more aspects of the multitask discipline including botany and cultivation, chemistry, biological activity, and applications in food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and other fields

The ISEO Medal was officially instituted in 2019, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of ISEO, held in Wien, Austria. With the help of the members of the ISEO permanent Scientific Committee and an artist from Messina, as well as the Merck company, official sponsor of the medal, the ISEO Medal of Honour was created.

Previous ISEO Medal of Honour Recipients

2019: Prof. Ian Karlsen, University of Oslo, Norway (50th ISEO, Wien, Austria)
2021: Prof. Karl Heinz Kubeczka, University of Wurzburg, Germany (51st ISEO, Turkey, on-line)
2022: Prof. Carlo Bicchi, University of Turin, Italy (52nd ISEO, Wroclaw, Poland)
2023: Prof. Dr. Kemal Hüsnü Can Başer (53rd ISEO, Milazzo, Messina, Italy)
2023: Prof. Giovanni Dugo (53rd ISEO, Milazzo, Messina, Italy)

2024 ISEO Medal of Honour Recipients

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Yoshinori Asakawa obtained his first degree in biology at Tokushima University, and then went to graduate school at Hiroshima University in 1964 to study organic chemistry. He has been actively involved in bryophyte research since the early 1970s, from the time when he was a postdoctoral with Professor Guy Ourisson at the Institut de Chimie, Université Louis-Pasteur, Strasbourg, France. He has studied not only bryophyte constituents and their biosynthesis but also bioactive secondary metabolites of pteridophytes, inedible mushrooms, and aromatic and medicinal plants, as well as the biotransformation of secondary metabolites by fungi and mammals, and oxidation reactions of organic peracids. He has authored and co-authored more than 700 papers, and 40 books and monographs. For his outstanding research, Prof. Asakawa was awarded the first Hedwig Medal from the International Association of Bryologists, the Phytochemistry Prize and Certification from Elsevier, the International Symposium on Essential Oils Award, the Jack Cannon International Gold Medal, the Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy Award, and the Tokushima Newspaper Award. In 2012 Medical University of Lublin (Poland) conferred him the title of Doctor honoris causa. He has been Editor of Phytomedicine and Spectroscopy, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of numerous scientific journals, including Phytochemistry, Phytochemistry Letters, Planta Medica, Flavor and Fragrance Journal, Fitoterapia, Natural Product Communications, Natural Product Research, Malaysian Journal of Sciences, Current Chemical Biology, Scientia Pharmaceutica, and Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, among others. He has served twice as Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Tokushima Bunri University, and is currently Director of the Institute of Pharmacognosy (1986-present). Prof. Asakawa has been President of the Phytochemical Society of Asia since 2007.

In 1968, Prof. Dr. Dr.habil. Chlodwig Franz earned his initial degree in agronomy from the University of Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria. He then pursued his studies in Munich, Germany, where he completed his PhDs in pharmaceutical biology/phytochemistry (University of Munich) and agronomy (Technical University Munich) in 1971. He was a research fellow in medicinal plant programs at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Munich from 1968 to 1977. From 1978 to 1985, he served as the director of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Production division at the Technical University Munich's Faculty of Agronomy and Horticulture. He then was appointed a professorship in Applied Botany and Pharmacognosy at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria, in 1985 and maintained this position until his retirement in emeritus status in 2012. In addition, he there served as the vice rector for research and evaluation from 1997 to 2003.
Chlodwig Franz was engaged in the genetics and breeding of medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as their quality appraisal and use in humans and animals. He is also interested in the diversity of plant secondary compounds within species. Working as a UNIDO expert, he was responsible for the coordination of plant domestication programs in Guatemala and other South American countries. He has been a member of the FFAC (Feed Flavouring Additives Consortium) of the European Commission in Brussels since 2012, where he serves as an expert in botanical feed additives.
Prof. Franz was a founding member of EUROPAM (European Herb Growers Association), president of ICMAP (International Council for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 2002-2007), chairman of the Permanent Committee Herbal Materials of the GA (Society of Medicinal Plants and Natural Products, 1988-2011), and initiator of the Veterinary Phytotherapy Group in the same association. Additionally, he was heavily involved in numerous organisations. From 1980 to 2018, he served as a member of the scientific committee for ISEO. He organised ISEO symposia on three separate occasions (1983 in Munich, 1996 in Vienna, and 2006 in Graz) and special ISEO seminars on two separate occasions (2001 and 2018 at Bach House, Austria).
Chlodwig Franz was awarded the Grand Decoration in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria (2009) and the Grand Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class, Austria (2013) for his professional activities. Additionally, he is an honorary member of the GA.

SPONSOR of the ISEO Medal of Honour