Report on the 7th International
Symposium on the Maillard Reaction
A J Banks Travel Fund Bursar Report by Davina Hinton
29 October-2 November 2001
The money that I was awarded enabled me to travel to Kumamoto
in Japan to attend the 7th International Symposium on the
Maillard reaction, where I presented my work to date as a
poster. After the initial symposium I was able to attend a
satellite meeting on the Maillard reaction and medical science
in Shiga, Japan.
The Symposium involved presentations covering all aspects
of ongoing current work on the Maillard reaction, as well
as informative reviews of published work such as 'Glycation
and oxidative stress'. The Symposium provided an intensive
schedule of parallel presentations relating to either the
food science or medical science side of the Maillard reaction.
Parallel sessions allowed me to choose presentations of most
relevance to my research, allowing me to maximise the applicability
of the information on offer.
The Symposium has given me a much greater understanding of
the complexities of the Maillard reaction and how all the
different areas of study compliment each other. I am currently
studying protein glycation as a result of the Maillard reaction,
both by looking at the mechanisms of the reaction and the
endproducts (advanced glycation endproducts, AGEs). I therefore
found presentations such as 'formation of NH- (carboxymethyl)lysine-modification
in human tissues in diseases and inflammatory glycation extremely
useful. I also enjoyed presentations dealing with the clinical
implications of protein glycation in diseases such as diabetes
and cataracts, as well as in the aging process. I also gained
dietary tips from presentations such as 'Protective role of
dietary antioxidants in oxidative stress and glycation reactions'
highlighting the nutritional benefits of certain food constituents
in retarding protein glycation in the body and therefore possibly
reducing associated clinical conditions.
I also found it fascinating learning about the biochemistry
of how the body deals with glycated proteins via presentations
such as 'Role of sinusoidal liver cells in the elimination
of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) from the circulation',
this was an area of the Maillard reaction which I had not
previously encountered in much detail.
I was able to meet extremely prominent people in my field
such as Vincent Monnier who first characterised the AGE pentosidine
and Paul Thornally who first discovered in-vivo the protein
glycating compound methylglyoxal, the methylated form of the
glycating agent I use in my studies, glyoxal. It was nice
to put faces to the authors of the papers I read and I found
all of the scientists I spoke to at the Symposium extremely
friendly and encouraging. I was left extremely enthusiastic
about getting back to work on my contribution to the understanding
of the Maillard reaction.
I also met John Baynes and Susan Thorpe, two prominent scientists
in the medical field of the Maillard reaction, who have invited
me to visit their lab in South Carolina, for a month in March
2002. This visit will allow me to learn and run samples on
their liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer, an instrument
not available at the University of Reading.
Finally, I am grateful for the chance to experience the culture
and beauty of Japan, a country of great diversity, and extremely
friendly, hospitable people.
Davina Hinton
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