Resveratrol Research

It has been observed that moderate consumption of the resveratrol found in red wine is one that has anticoagulant components, prevents thrombus, and increases the effectiveness of immune system cells. In much higher doses, studies have shown that it prolongs the life of yeast, flies, fish and worms. Adding resveratrol to the diet of mice makes obese mice live as long and with the similar health stats as those given a very healthy diet.

Scientists have become very excited about the prospects of this supplements and believe it may help prevent or slow dreaded diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, or Alzheimer's. It may also restore vitality as well as increase stamina and strength.

The preliminary resveratrol research has seemingly backed up these thoughts, but many more studies (as well as human trials) need to be completed before this drug can be proven and approved for the extension of life. Here we will discuss some of the most important resveratrol studies that have caused such a stir in the anti-aging community.

One of the most famous studies about the aging process involves a strict diet called calorie restriction. The theory states that if you eat 30% less food than you normally would, you can add an additional 10 to 20 years to your life span. This has proven true in rodents, and a 20 year study on Rhesus monkeys added even more significant data to back this up.

It is believed that this restricted calorie diet works is because it activates a normally dormant "survival gene" called Sirtuins. When these genes come to life it seems that they go to war with any age related disease such as diabetes and cancer.

A researcher at the Harvard Medical school, Dr. David Sinclair, sought out to find a chemical found in nature that would mimic this gene activation. If we could find something that switched it one we would be able to get all of the health benefits of CR, without the starvation.

After testing over 10,000 natural compounds Dr. Sinclair finally found one that worked...and the results nearly made him "fall out of his chair". The compound found to activate the sirtuin gene was none other than the resveratrol typically found in red wine.

After conducting resveratrol studies that showed this compound extended the life of yeast, fruit flies, and works, Dr. Sinclair's group moved up the ladder and started testing it on mammals. In what has probably become the most famous study on resveratrol to date, they tested the effectiveness of resveratrol on mice given a high fat diet.

In this study there were two groups of mice fed a diet that consisted of 60% fat, as well as a control group given a standard healthy diet. On of the high fat groups was also given a high dose of resveratrol supplements.

This snipped taken from the actual research paper shows exactly how significant these results were:

"Here we show that resveratrol shifts the physiology of middle-aged mice on a high-calorie diet towards that of mice on a standard diet and significantly increases their survival. Resveratrol produces changes associated with longer lifespan, including increased insulin sensitivity, reduced insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) levels, increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC-1alpha) activity, increased mitochondrial number, and improved motor function.

Parametric analysis of gene set enrichment revealed that resveratrol opposed the effects of the high-calorie diet in 144 out of 153 significantly altered pathways. These data show that improving general health in mammals using small molecules is an attainable goal, and point to new approaches for treating obesity-related disorders and diseases of aging."

This is essentially saying that when given resveratrol the mice given the high fat diet were able to fight off the side effects of obesity, and acted similarly to the mice on the standard healthy diet.

Here is a video that shows how much of a difference the resveratrol made on the athletic ability of the mice given a high fat diet:

While you can currently buy resveratrol supplements online or in your local vitamin store, many companies are working towards creating a powerful synthetic version to be used as a prescription medicine.

The leader in this industry is Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, originally founded by Dr. Sinclair and latter purchased by GlaxoSmitheKline.

The first condition they tested their resveratrol drug on was diabetes.

"We chose diabetes because it's a big market, but the biology says the drug could work on any number of diseases," said David Sinclair"

The company tested 98 diabetics and after 28 days they showed significant improvements in their ability to break down and use sugar, as well as lower overall levels of glucose in their systems. There were no notable side effects of resveratrol displayed in testing.