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(*) Summary. Degenerative diseases are form of diseases in which the function or structure of the affected part of the body (tissues or organs) will progressively deteriorate over time as a result of normal body wear-out or lifestyle; they are different from infectious diseases. These diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Atherosclerosis, Cancer, Diabetes, Heart diseases and Rheumatoid Arthritis e.t.c. Recent reports have shown that a practical approach for the management and/or prevention of these diseases is through the eating of food rich in antioxidants such polyphenols. In recent years, phenolic compounds have attracted the interest of researchers because they show promise of being powerful antioxidants that can protect the human body from free radicals, whose formation is associated with the normal natural metabolism of aerobic cells. However, phenolic compounds play some other physiological roles which includes up-regulating the gene coding for some antioxidant enzymes as well as inhibiting some key enzymes that have been linked to some degenerative diseases, in addition to their known antiradical and Fe (II) chelating properties. Our recent research findings revealed that phenolic extracts (free soluble and bound) from some tropical sub-Sahara African foods such as green leafy vegetables, spices, pepper, legumes, citrus and ginger have high phenolic content, and they have shown good promise as inhibitor of key enzymes that are associated with some degenerative diseases like non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NDDM) (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), hypertension (angiotensin – I-converting enzyme {ACE} and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase {HMG-CoA reductase}) and Alzheimer’s disease (acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and β-secretase) and colon cancer (proteasome and MMPs{matrix metalloproteinases}) - in vitro. Therefore, eat healthy foods and stay healthy, avoid junk food; eat more fruit and vegetables- “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”.

Biodata. Dr. Ganiyu Oboh is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Akure, Nigeria. He was the Sub-Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies (2010-2011) and Acting Head of the Biochemistry Department (2011-2012). His Ph.D degree was obtained in 2002 in Applied Biochemistry from the same University. He went on to post-doctoral training in 2005 at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil.
He has been awarded several fellowships that have allowed him additional postdoctoral experience including visits to the Technical University of Dresden in Germany (AvH Foundation) and the Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Chinese Academy Sciences, Shanghai, China. He has been the recipient of several research grants. In 2010 he was awarded "The Best Researcher of the Year" by the Federal University of Technology Akure.
Dr. Oboh is an old friend of the Centre. His first contact with the ICTP was as a Young Collaborator in 1999. He was then promoted to Junior Associate for the period 1999 – 2006. He is now a Regular Associate. During his contacts with the Centre he has also collaborated with Dr Sabina Passamonti of University of Trieste.
His expertise is on Food Biophysics, structure-function relationship of food bioactive substances with special emphasis on the role of polyphenols as dietary intervention in the management of some degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, hypertension, kidney diseases, infertility and various stages of cancer. He is the author of 142 articles in refereed journals and conferences proceedings. He has trained several graduate students and is a member of numerous learned societies.