May 5, 2006
Alltech continues to deliver nutrigenomic promise
Press release
The latest advances in animal feeding programmes and their implications on human health were addressed at Alltech's 22nd International Feed Industry Symposium.
This year saw a record attendance of 1,550 delegates from 71 different countries, where they were challenged by 'new realities' and heard about how the new science of nutrigenomics may impact things such as Alzheimer's disease, aging and animal health.
Dr Lyons, founder and president of Alltech, closed the symposium by asking delegates if they were "ready for the road ahead", and encouraged them to imagine a world with no oil imports and no feed shortages. "With science and new developments in technology, this may be a possibility in the future," he explained. Over the three days, delegates were introduced to the new science of nutrigenomics, which is a revolution in how we think about our health.
Karl Dawson, director of research worldwide, Alltech, further echoed Dr Lyons by explaining the challenges of modern animal agriculture such as: providing the world and growing population with protein; using fibrous wastes as a food source; ensuring the safety of the food chain; new health concerns such as avian flu as well as the environmental impact of animal agriculture.
The global issue of avian influenza was addressed by Frank Edens of North Carolina State University. He said that avian influenza is a global reality, and while its presence has infected a large quantity of birds, the threat of a pandemic is not as great as originally feared. He stated that if a pandemic were to occur, it would not be caused by the H5N1 strain, but rather a mutation of this strain. Since that has not occurred and the virus has been around for years, a pandemic is "possible, but probably not likely," he said.
Ronan Power, director of research, Alltech, explained how nutrigenomics tells us how nutrients affect genes, and that we are now able to understand the interaction of nutrition and genes. With this knowledge, it could be possible for humans to live longer through proper nutrition such as selenium supplementation. Having adequate selenium levels appears to work as effectively as caloric restriction, long considered an effective tool for prolonging life. By reducing oxidative stress inside the human, the effects of oxidation are reduced, which is believed to be a component of extending life.
Video highlights from the symposium are available on www.alltech.com. For a copy of the proceedings, please contact your local Alltech representative or e-mail info@alltech.com.
Dr Pearse Lyons, president of Alltech, during his Presenting Alltech's Medal of Excellence award.
opening address at the symposium holding a copy Left to right: Dr Pearse Lyons, president of Alltech;
of the 'gene chip' Dr Peter Ferket, Alltech's Medal of Excellence
winner and Dr Karl Dawson, director of research
worldwide, Alltech
