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(*) Summary. Phenolic compounds are important group of secondary metabolites, which are synthesized by plants because of plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress conditions (infection, wounding, water stress, cold stress, high visible light). 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. The antiradical activity of flavonoids and phenolics is principally based on the redox properties of their hydroxyl groups and the structural relationships between different parts of their chemical structure. Epidemiological data have indicated beneficial effects of antioxidant compounds in the prevention of a multitude of disease states, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. Our research findings revealed that some tropical foods such as green leafy vegetables, spices, pepper, legumes, citrus peels and ginger have high phenolic content, and antioxidant properties as typified by their reducing power, Fe2+ chelating ability, free radical scavenging ability (DPPH, ABTS), OH* scavenging ability and inhibition of various pro-oxidants (Fe2+, Sodium Nitroprusside & Quinolinic acid) induced lipid peroxidation in various organs- in vitro. Moreover, the phenolic extracts from those foods could inhibit some of the key enzymes associated with some degenerative diseases like type-2-diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), hypertension (angiotensin – I-converting Enzyme) and Alzheimer diseases (acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase) - in vitro. Furthermore, diets containing some of those plants food prevent oxidative stress in vivo, modulate enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in rats and inhibits key enzymes associated those degenerative diseases-in vivo. 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 is the Sub-Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies and Acting Head of the Biochemistry Department. 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 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 108 articles in refereed journals and conferences proceedings. He has trained several graduate students and is a member of numerous learned societies.