Source: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
2ND INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
NRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0211366
Grant No.
2007-35200-18412
Cumulative Award Amt.
$10,000.00
Proposal No.
2007-02297
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2007
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2008
Grant Year
2007
Program Code
[31.0]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001
Performing Department
HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
Non Technical Summary
The 2nd International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables to be held October 9-13, 2007 in Houston, Texas, is a global forum for research scientists to exchange the most recent information on the mechanism of action that bioactive compounds from fruits and vegetables have on human health. The interaction of scientists will provide a well focused exchange among scientists to build collaborations and partnerships to achieve prevention of diseases using fruits and vegetables. The interdisciplinary research areas will include breeding, post-harvest physiology, nutrition, chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, and biomedical sciences. The first symposium was held in 2005 in Quebec, Canada and participants were enthusiastic about continuing the information exchange. The symposium will have sessions in obesity, cancer prevention, cardiovascular diseases, brain health, eye health, bioavailability, osteoporosis, pre- and post-harvest factors affecting optimization of bioactive compounds, organically grown fruits and vegetables and their role in disease prevention and isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds. Oral and poster sessions will be thematically grouped and sessions will include a representative mixture of experimental and intellectual approaches.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2010999303010%
2011199303010%
2011499303010%
7010999303010%
7011099303010%
7011199303010%
7011499303010%
7020999303010%
7021199303010%
7021499303010%
Knowledge Area
702 - Requirements and Function of Nutrients and Other Food Components; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms; 701 - Nutrient Composition of Food;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other; 1099 - Tropical/subtropical fruit, general/other; 0999 - Citrus, general/other; 1199 - Deciduous and small fruits, general/other;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;
Goals / Objectives
The Second International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables (http://FAVHealth2007.tamu.edu) is an important forum for researchers involved in characterizing, isolating, optimizing, and understanding the mechanism of action of bioactive compounds in fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, this symposium will include discussions and information exchange on how pre- and post-harvest factors play a role in the alteration of bioactive compounds. The proposed symposium is a global forum for an interdisciplinary team of scientists who have expertise in the foods for health areas, including breeding, post-harvest physiology, nutrition, chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, biomedical sciences. The goal of the symposium is to build a collaborative partnership to achieve prevention of diseases through the use of fruits and vegetables. Currently, several individual bioactive compounds and/or synergistic effects of these compounds have been studied. This type of international symposium, through interdisciplinary researchers, will provide a well focused exchange of information among the researchers that is beyond their traditional departments.
Project Methods
The Second Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables will consist of oral presentations in an auditorium setting, poster-viewing sessions with authors in attendance, and free time for important informal discussions. Roundtables for the discussion of important issues facing the attendees will be held in the evenings. The symposium is divided into several sessions with individual diseases, such as heart, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer, osteoporosis, brain, and eye health. Research on certain bioactive compounds in specific fruits and vegetables in conjunction with specific diseases will be presented. Each session will start with a plenary speaker, invited presentations, and contributed oral presentations. We are hoping to have a medical doctor to start a session and researchers, with their Doctors of Philosophy, on each topic from different disciplines. While an established investigator will chair each session and attempt to make introductory thematic statements regarding the field (5-10 minutes), this meeting will be novel in that it will give the microphone entirely to young scientists from the United States and approximately 30 countries around the globe. The junior scientists will, thus, get a chance to present their results in a forum where both the audience knowledge and expectations are high. The sessions and chairs are listed below in the order they will present at the meeting.

Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Second International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables was held in Houston, Texas, October 9-13, 2007. The participants had the opportunity to attend and participate in 26 sessions, poster sessions, two round table discussions and a banquet. Each session had a plenary speaker, an invited talk and oral presentations with time assigned for discussion. The oral presentations were divided into sessions covering the following areas of research encompassing fruits and vegetables in relation to cancer prevention, antioxidants, brain and eye health, bioavailability, obesity prevention, brassica, cardiovascular disease, food/drug interaction, mineral elements, isolation and characterization, post harvest, breeding, environmental factors, skin health, wine and health, osteoporosis, organically grown, and marketing. One round table discussion, "Challenges and Opportunities of FAV for Health: Perspective from Journal Editors and Global Leaders" had presentations and discussions by journal editors from Ag and Food Chemistry, Antioxidant and Redox Signaling Journal, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and representatives from AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center, NAPED, WHO, CIRAD and CDC. The second round table discussion, "Current and future funding challenges for FAV for health" included state and federal officials (Texas Department of Agriculture, USDA Program Leaders from Human Nutrition and Plant and Animal Systems, National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health Program Leader in the Division of Cancer Prevention, and representatives from the Texas A&M University System). The poster sessions had 184 entries with awards given to the top three chosen by committee. The awards were presented at the banquet. The symposium website is updated and has the abstracts and slides of the oral presentations and poster abstracts. One session was organized and conducted by graduate students who were near completion of their advanced degrees. This session had presentations from Sweden, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences include world-wide research faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral research associates specializing in research on the health benefits of FAV. Dieticians, news media, and industry representatives also attended and participated in this symposium. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The FAV 2007 symposium had over 300 participants from 38 countries during the four day program. The participants included scientists/researchers from universities and companies, graduate students, media representatives, industry representatives and dieticians who received CEUs. There were 78 guest speakers that gave plenary or invited talks during the sessions. Each session was chaired by a senior and junior scientist and/or graduate students which provided time for the junior scientist and/or graduate students to interact with the plenary and invited presenters. The graduate student session gave these presenters an opportunity to organize, present and rebuttal the research presented as well as interact with senior scientists who participated. Plans are being made for a Third Symposium to be held in 2009.

Publications

  • Proceedings: Second International Symposium on the Human Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables. 2009. Acta Horticulturae, in preparation