The 21st ISANH Redox Congress, the 4th ISANH-ME Congress 2019, organized by the College of Medicine & Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University in association with the International Society of Antioxidants in Nutrition and Health in the Middle-East (ISANH - ME) commenced at the University on 4 March 2019 under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health.
Prof. Jumana Saleh from the College of Medicine of Sultan Qaboos University and the Vice-President of ISANH Middle East, said that this international Congress was designed to present the latest research and technology developments in the area of redox (which is the science of oxidative stress and anti-oxidants) in medicine and research, involving three themes: redox in disease and Medicine, waste valorization and the recently growing hot topic, the microbiota.
The first session of the conference “Redox, Health & Medicine” will discuss the impact of oxidative stress, antioxidants and natural ingredients in diseases and in health. The second session “Bio-Waste Valorization” will feature talks on antioxidants and bioactive molecules from food waste. The aim of this session is to highlight the participants’ knowledge in the food waste valorization processes and to encourage all stakeholders in the food waste management in the Middle East to participate in order to put in place a regional task force for an innovative initiative towards a reliable plan for better food waste and byproducts management and valorization.
Food waste valorization practices have gained much attention lately as a means of sustainable management, which can increase the profit for local economies. The value of food waste is associated with their content in dietary fibers and several bioactive molecules that can be capitalized in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical industries. So far, these materials constitute an underexploited source for the recovery and production of natural compounds for food and other multiple industrial applications especially in the Middle East where more than one trillion dollars’ worth of food are wasted each year.
The third session “Microbiota & Metabolic Syndrome” will analyze topics on the quality and diversity of human microbiota and the influence of gut microbiota on the development and progression of chronic diseases.
The International Society of Antioxidants in Nutrition and Health (ISANH) is a non-profit organization that seeks to advance the practical applications of Antioxidants, in all related fields, with particular reference to Health and Nutrition. The aim of ISANH Middle East is to gather all stakeholders in the antioxidants field, having impact on nutrition and health, in the Middle East region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prof. Marvin Edeas, President of ISANH, stressed on the importance of or redox and microbiota domains in health care and disease prevention. “The idea of the ISANH Redox Congress is to bring a new level of thinking about the medicine of tomorrow out of the classical existing point of view. “We believe that a person’s genome determines what types of diseases you may get; and his or her microbiome determines when you may get a particular disease”, he added.
Prof. Richard G. Maroun, Chairman of ISANH-Middle East, in his address said that antioxidants are compounds that can be found in many products. “They can even be extracted from coproducts and organic waste. Moreover, their added value is high and remarkable on different levels, particularly on health. Valorizing these molecules on a large scale helps the creation of a societal health which highly contributes to a sustainable food chain from an environmental and economical point of view and to better understand the impact of antioxidants on our cellular mechanisms especially in preventing different types of diseases”.
The two-day Congress features 34 research papers and 15 posters presented by 39 presenters from 24 countries in the world.