Functional Foods and Bioactive Compounds: Modern and Medieval Approaches

31st International Conference & EXPO of FFC - 19th International
Symposium of ASFFBC

September 29th - October 1st, 2023, Yerevan State University in Yerevan, Armenia (In-Person and Virtual/Live Online Event)

To view general information in different languages, click here:

Armenian Russian

General Information

Since 1998, The Functional Food Center (FFC) has been a pioneer in the functional food science field, combining cutting-edge expertise in the biomedical sciences with practical business experience in order to aid in further research, development, and commercialization of functional food innovations in both domestic and international markets. The FFC connects a global network of professionals (scientists, functional food experts, and food and medical industry representatives) to an environment conducive to innovative research collaboration.

The 31st International Conference of the Functional Food Center will take place at Yerevan State University in Yerevan, Republic Armenia from September 29th – October 1st, 2023. This conference will bring together experts in medicine, biology, and the food industry to discuss the usage of functional foods with bioactive compounds as dietary interventions for chronic and viral diseases. For more information, check out our conference page.

About Yerevan State University 

Yerevan State University (YSU) is the most ancient educational institution in Armenia that has remained in operation since it was established in 1919. It is also the largest university in the country while offering a wide range of high-quality academic programs with numerous disciplines including natural sciences and social sciences. Currently, there are 312 educational programs with almost 14,000 students and 150,000 graduates. Yerevan State University prioritizes the development of science and innovation by being actively involved in scientific research and collaborating with other research institutions including participation in international conferences. For more information about YSU, please visit here.

About the Matenadaran

The Matenadaran contains one of the world’s largest repositories of ancient manuscripts, including thousands of years’ worth of cumulated knowledge from medieval Armenian doctors and ancient Greek physicians like Galen and Hippocrates. These manuscripts document the healing properties of the plant and animal foods of the ancient world. Approaching these remedies from a modern functional food’s perspective, we can now identify alkaloid glucosides, flavonoids, saponins, and other features of medieval medicine as relevant bioactive compounds for the promotion of health. Teucrium polium, a common ingredient in a traditional Armenian relaxing herbal tea, for example, has recently shown in animal studies the potential to prevent menopause-related neurodegenerative memory loss. This conference will highlight many of the traditional uses of food for the prevention and treatment of disease in sessions like «Armenian alternative and traditional medicine, functional food and bioactive compounds». For more information about the Matenadaran please visit here.

About Armenian Academy of Sciences

­The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of science in Armenia. It is a member of the International Science Council. It was founded on November 10th, 1943, and consists of 38 research institutes, including 8 research institutes under the Division of Natural Sciences. The current president of NAS RA is Professor Ashot Saghyan and the Academician-Secretary of the Division of the Natural Sciences is professor Rouben Aroutiounian. For more information about the NAS RA please visit here.

Deadlines:

1. Abstract submission deadline extended to August 11th, 2023, 5 pm.
2. Full-text paper submission deadline is August 1st, 2023.
3. Power Points for oral presentations should be submitted before September 21st, 2023.

Now we are collecting abstracts for oral and poster presentation.  Before submitting your own abstract, please review sample abstract here for Research and Review options. The entire abstract should have a maximum of 1000 words (contact information after actual abstract did not account as an additional words). Please use Times New Roman Font 12 for the entire abstract. Official abstract submission deadline extended to August 11th, 2023, 5 pm, but those who submitting for the oral presentation (short with 7 minutes presentation or regular 20 minutes presentation), we strongly recommend submitting abstract as soon as possible (first come first serve basis). Abstracts should be submitted as an attached file directly to FFC's Email address: ffc@functionalfoodscenter.net. Please submit your abstract as soon as possible because of limited availabilities. 

• If you need any discount or full waiver for the payment of registration fee, please contact to FFC as soon as possible by filling out Financial Aid Application Form.  Final decision will be made by FFC.
• The official language of FFC31 International Conference is English. Authors must make sure that the abstract has been written in proper English. Please inspect your abstract carefully before submitting. However, should you find it necessary, changes will be permitted within the abstract submission deadline.
• Please click the Registration form, so we can provide you with more detail information.

Contact Information

Contact the FFC with any additional questions or comments by filling out contact us form. FFC’s representatives speak in English, Armenian and Russian languages. However, you can contact directly to representatives of Yerevan State University, Matenadaran, Armenian Academy of Sciences, Center for Rehabilitation, Preventive and Traditional Medicine “AltMed”, as well as Functional Food Center by using following Email addresses and phone numbers:

• Center for Agriculture Research and Certification" State Non-Commercial Organization (Meruzhan Zadayan, PhD) Phone (+37499) 698869 (Viber/WhatsApp/Telegram). E-mail: mhzadayan@gmail.
• Yerevan State University: Email: info@ysu.am; Phone: (+37460) 710000
• Matenadaran Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts: Email: interrelmatenadaran@gmail.com; Phone: +374 10513049 (Ani Manukyan)
• Email: natdiv@sci.am; Phone: +374 10 52 58 05 (Dr. Rouben M. Aroutiounian)
• Center for Rehabilitation, Preventive and Traditional Medicine: Email: dr.m.avagyan@gmail.com; Phone: 091-209-292 (Dr. Mkrtich Avagyan)
  
• Functional Food Center: Email: ffc@functionalfoodscenter.net; Phone: +001-619-642-8088 (Dr. Danik Martirosyan)

Conference Organizers

The conference is organized by Functional Food Center-FFC (Dallas, TX, USA), Functional Food Institute-FFI (San Diego, CA, USA), Yerevan State University (YSU), The Matenadaran, Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, Research Institute (Yerevan, Armenia), The National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, International Academic Society for Functional Foods and Bioactive Compounds (ASFFBC) with several journals such as The Journal of “Functional Foods in Health and Disease” (FFHD), The Journal of “Bioactive Compounds in Health and Disease” (BCHD) and The Journal of Functional Food Science (FFS).

The conference will be hosted by the following main organizers: Danik Martirosyan, PhD, Founder and President of the FFC;  Vahan Ter-Ghevondian, PhD, Director of the Matenadaran; Rouben Aroutiounian, PhD, Professor, Chair of Genetics and Cytology Department at Yerevan State University, Academician-Secretary of the Division of the Natural Sciences of Armenian Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia, and Mkrtich Avagyan, MD, Head of the Department of Alternative Medicine at Yerevan State Medical University, and Chief at the Center for Rehabilitation, Preventive and Traditional Medicine “AltMed”.

About Conference Chair

The head organizer, Dr. Martirosyan, has made a name for himself as one of the best-known founders in the Functional Food Science field. He is founder of the FFC, the author of the FFC functional food definition, an editor of 11 Functional Food Science textbooks, and the founder of several  functional food scientific journals, including «Functional Foods in Health and Disease» (FFHD, indexed in Scopus and web of Science), «Bioactive Compounds in Health and Disease» (BCHD, indexed in Scopus), and «Functional Food Science» (FFS). Since 2004, Dr. Martirosyan and the FFC have hosted 30 international conferences for a global community of researchers, food scientists, and academics. Notable conferences have taken place at Harvard Medical School (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019), University of California, Los Angeles (2013), University of California, Santa Barbara (2012),  Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan (2013), Kobe University in Japan (2015), Ritsumeikan University, Osaka, Japan (2018), University of Regensburg in Germany (2014), University of the Aegean, Lemnos, Greece (2022).

Dr. Martirosyan defines functional foods as, “Natural or processed foods that contain biologically-active compounds, which, in defined, effective, non-toxic amounts, provide a clinically proven and documented health benefit utilizing specific biomarkers, to promote optimal health and reduce the risk of chronic/viral diseases and manage their symptoms,”. The FFC set out to establish a methodology for the classification and development of functional food products and a database for functional food research.