Conference on Animal Health Nutraceuticals

Presentations highlight advancements in rapidly growing nutritional health category

Vets Plus, Inc., in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Stout, recently presented the first-ever international conference on the growing use of nutraceuticals to benefit companion and production animal health. The International Conference on Animal Health Nutraceuticals, or ICAHN 2019, was conducted July 17-19 at UW-Stout’s Memorial Student Center conference facility in Menomonie, WI.

According to Raj Lall, Vets Plus’ founder and CEO, the successful conference resulted from a combination of world-renowned scientists, timely topics for discussion and superb conference management support provided by UW-Stout. “All veterinarians use nutraceuticals for a growing list of companion and production animal indications, but far fewer have access to up-to-date information about their use,” he said. “ICAHN enabled veterinarians and industry professionals to receive cutting edge information from leading scientists on advancements, applications and potential concerns about nutraceutical use.”

Dr. Ajay Srivastava, Vets Plus’ Chief Scientific Officer said, “To our knowledge, this is the first time a group of leading nutraceutical scientists has appeared together in this kind of dedicated forum. We are proud of the caliber of the scientific presenters at ICAHN. Some of the brightest minds in the nutritional science category provided public access to their work.”

“For instance, we were able to feature Dr. Gary Richter discussing endocannabinoid and phytocannabinoid systems, the potential health benefits of cannabis and the current legal landscape affecting their use in animal health,” Dr. Srivastava continued. “We are also proud to have showcased Dr. Steve Lerner, who explained the technical activities of probiotics in supporting normal gut function and their impact on increased nutrient absorption and enhanced resistance to disease.”

ICAHN also featured Dr. Gerald Buchoff, who cited increasing concerns about over and misuse of antibiotics and described recent developments in the use of transferrins as immune system modulators for their anti-inflammatory and antiviral benefits.

“The conference was an overwhelming success both in terms of attendance and the quality of the interchange between scientists, practitioners and other attendees,” said Paul Hays, Vets Plus’ Chief Commercial Officer. “We can clearly see ICAHN as an ongoing meeting place for nutraceutical scientists and as a clearinghouse for their work. Over time, ICAHN represents a real opportunity to advance the quality of companion animal health and production animal performance through a science-based approach to nutritional support,” he said. For more information visit: https://icahn2019.com/