Substance in red wine found to keep hearts youngJune 05, 2008GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- How do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? Scientists have long suspected that the answer to the so-called "French paradox" lies in red wine. Now, the results of a new study bring them closer to understanding why. Writing this week in the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE, researchers from industry and academia, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Florida, report that low doses of resveratrol -- a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods -- can potentially boost the quality of life by improving heart health in old age. The scientists included small amounts of resveratrol in the diets of middle-aged mice and found that the compound has a widespread influence on the genetic causes of aging. Specifically, the researchers found that low doses of resveratrol mimic the heart-healthy effects of what is known as caloric restriction, diets with 20 to 30 percent fewer calories than a typical diet. The new study is important because it suggests that resveratrol and caloric restriction, which has been widely studied in animals from spiders to humans, may govern the same master genetic pathways related to aging. "Caloric restriction is highly effective in extending life in many species. If you provide species with less food, the regulated cellular stress response of this healthy habit actually makes them live longer," says study author Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, chief of the division of biology of aging at UF's Institute on Aging. "In this study, the effects of low doses of resveratrol (on genes) were comparable to caloric restriction, the hallmark for life extension." Previous research has shown that high doses of resveratrol extend life in invertebrates and prevent early death in mice given a high-fat diet. The new study extends those findings, showing that resveratrol in low doses, beginning in middle age, can elicit many of the same benefits as a reduced-calorie diet. "Resveratrol is active in much lower doses than previously thought," said Tomas Prolla, a UW professor of genetics and a senior author of the new report. The group explored the agent's influence on the heart, muscle and brain by looking to see which genes were switched on and off during the aging process. In the new study -- which compared the genetic responses of animals to either restricted diets or normal diets including small doses of resveratrol -- the similarities were remarkable, explains lead author Jamie Barger of Madison, Wis.-based LifeGen Technologies, who spearheaded the research. In the heart, for example, there are at least 1,029 genes whose functions change with age. In animals on restricted diets, 90 percent of those heart genes experienced alterations in gene expression, while low doses of resveratrol thwarted age-related change in 92 percent. The new findings, say the study's authors, reveal how red wine's special ingredient helps keep the heart young. In short, the authors note that a glass of wine or food or supplements containing even small doses of resveratrol are likely to help stave off cardiac aging. That finding, may also explain the remarkable heart health of people who live in some regions of France where diets are soaked in saturated fats but the incidence of heart disease, a major cause of mortality in the United States, is low. In France, meals are traditionally complemented with a glass of red wine. "There must be a few master biochemical pathways activated in response to caloric restriction, which in turn activate many other pathways," explained Prolla. "And resveratrol seems to activate some of these master pathways as well." Resveratrol is currently sold over-the-counter as a nutritional supplement with supposed anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging benefits, although few scientific studies have verified these claims in humans. That may soon change: Researchers at the University of Florida hope to explore the effects of resveratrol on older people in a phase 1 clinical trial, set to begin this summer. The study will assess the supplement's effects on memory, physical performance, inflammation and oxidative damage, according to Steve Anton, a principal investigator of the upcoming trial and an assistant professor of aging and geriatrics in the UF College of Medicine. Mitochondria, the tiny power plants that keep a cell functioning, are especially vulnerable to the oxidative damage that accumulates during the aging process. "In animal studies, (resveratrol) seems to promote mitochondrial health," said Todd Manini, also a principal investigator of the upcoming trial and an assistant professor of aging and geriatrics in the UF College of Medicine. "Mitochondria are everywhere: They're in the brain, in the muscle, the liver. So it could have kind of a global impact on many different organ systems." University of Florida |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Resveratrol Current Events and Resveratrol News Articles Researchers explore new ways to prevent spinal cord damage using a vitamin B3 precursor Substances naturally produced by the human body may one day help prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. A recent $2.5 million grant from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board will fund their research investigating this possibility. Brown and beige dominate the plate: Daily dose of color needed to fill America's 'phytonutrient gap' While it is a well-known fact that most Americans do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, a new report shows the color of fruits and veggies eaten can be as important as the quantity. UT Southwestern study shows how substance in grapes may squeeze out diabetes A naturally produced molecule called resveratrol, found in the skin of red grapes, has been shown to lower insulin levels in mice when injected directly into the brain, even when the animals ate a high-fat diet. Future diabetes treatment may use resveratrol to target the brain Resveratrol, a molecule found in red grapes, has been shown to improve diabetes when delivered orally to rodents. Until now, however, little has been known about how these beneficial changes are mediated in the body. Study: Popular supplement quercetin does not enhance athletic performance The antioxidant quercetin is increasingly being marketed as a supplement that boosts athletic performance, but a new University of Georgia study finds that it is no better than a placebo. Scientists uncork a potential secret of red wine's health benefits Scientists from Scotland and Singapore have unraveled a mystery that has perplexed scientists since red wine was first discovered to have health benefits: how does resveratrol control inflammation? Preventium is 'where the prevention of breast and prostate cancer begins' Dr. Ercole Cavalieri and Dr. Eleanor Rogen of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, located in Omaha, Nebraska, have identified the triggering mechanism by which breast and prostate cancer cells begin. AJCN study shows moderate alcohol consumption related to stronger bones The devastating effects of excessive alcohol consumption are undisputable, although some data suggest that moderate alcohol consumption may impart some health benefits. Drug mimics low-cal diet to ward off weight gain, boost running endurance A drug designed to specifically hit a protein linked to the life-extending benefits of a meager diet can essentially trick the body into believing food is scarce even when it isn't, suggests a new report in the November Cell Metabolism. A new weapon in the fight against obesity and diabetes A study appearing November 5 in the journal Cell Metabolism demonstrates that a synthetic new chemical entity protects against diet-induced obesity, improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and enhances exercise endurance by enhancing fat utilization in certain target tissues. More Resveratrol Current Events and Resveratrol News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||