Resveratrol Health Benefits l Resveratrol Studies l Antioxidant Benefits of Resveratrol Sources

New scientific research points to resveratrol as a tool to help repair damaged heart tissue after a heart attack.

Dipak Das, co-author and research professor at the University of Connecticut’s Cardiovascular Research Center, was recently cited in the Journal of Molecular Medicine in an exciting new find on Resveratrol. The researchers mimicked the effects of a heart attack by essentially puncturing the hearts of mice, then stitching them up. Stem cells were then directly injected into the animals’ hearts in an attempt to determine if the cells would regenerate heart tissue and heal the wound.

Resveratrol Supplementation Improved Healing of Infarcted Heart Tissue

One test group was given resveratrol supplements for two weeks. The researchers found that the presence of the antioxidant actually reduced stress on the wound site. As a result, resveratrol appeared to provide favorable conditions for the wounds to heal. Paired with the stem cells, “cardiac function was significantly improved,” the text said. The stem cells survived working alone on the wounds for a period of seven days, whereas with the aid of resveratrol, they continued to thrive for a period of 28 days.

“Our results demonstrate that resveratrol maintained a reduced tissue environment …[and] enhancement of the cardiac regeneration of the adult cardiac stem cells … increased cell survival and differentiation leading to cardiac function,” the study maintained. While more study is still needed,  there is hope that heart attach survivors could enjoy the benefits of resveratrol treatments in the future.

According to a new study conducted by Jill Crandall, an endocrinologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, intake of resveratrol supplements increases insulin sensitivity in human patients suffering from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) - also known as “pre-diabetes.” Resveratrol is an organic polyphenolic compound found in red wine, grapes and other foods that have a number of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cardio-protective health benefits. The results of the study were presented during a meeting of the American Diabetes Association.

Insulin Sensitivity

Pre-diabetes patients taking resveratrol supplements demonstrated lower post-meal glucose levels and improved insulin sensitivity – an encouraging outcome with potential implications for those with type 2 diabetes or at high risk for the condition.

Insulin Resistance

A related study by Meredith Hawkins, M.D., from the Global Diabetes Initiative at Einstein reported on the effect of resveratrol in overweight, middle-aged subjects who were insulin resistant. As people either age or gain weight, they don’t respond to insulin as well as younger or thinner people do. Some people even reject the action of insulin- a condition known as insulin resistance- and as a result don’t burn or take in glucose competently, which can eventually result in diabetes. In her resveratrol study, Dr. Hawkins detected a 40 percent increase in insulin sensitivity, as well as improvements in mitochondrial function, concluding that resveratrol supplementation may serve as a treatment for this condition.

Resveratrol Dosage Used

Resveratrol supplements containing resveratrol quantities much higher than found in foods or wine- were given to people in this study. According to Dr. Crandall, the concentrations of Resveratrol contained in the supplements were much higher than “even several bottles of wine”.

Buccal Delivery is Key to Resveratrol Absorption and Bio-Availability

The only way to safely consume dosages of resveratrol similar to those used in clinical studies is through supplementation. Studies show that the most efficient way of consuming resveratrol supplements is by directly absorbing the substance through the inside of the mouth without swallowing. This method is known as “buccal delivery.”

When absorbed through the mouth’s epithelial tissue, resveratrol supplements avoid being directly metabolized by the intestines and liver. In human experiments, only trace amounts of resveratrol were found in plasma when taken as pills or capsules. On the other hand, buccal delivery supplementation with intraoral absorption produced up to 250 times higher levels of unchanged resveratrol in blood plasma. Resveratrol fast melting tablets from EZ MELTS are designed for buccal delivery, and provide the highest dosage of resveratrol available in an intraoral supplement in the market.

A study published by BMC Physiology on June 2010 shows that Resveratrol supplements caused reduced weight gain in non-human primates (grey mouse lemurs), during their seasonal fattening period. The study was conducted by scientists from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the University of Strasburg in France. Resveratrol is an organic polyphenol commonly found in red wine and red grapes, and has been proven to prevent diabetes in rodents by enhancing their energy metabolism. In this latest study, however, the effects of Resveratrol on metabolism have been tested for the first time on non-human primates.

Resveratrol Dosage and Metabolic Effect

Six Lemurs were supplied with a resveratrol dosage by the researchers (200mg per day). This dosage is equivalent to the amount of resveratrol found in several bottles of red wine. This supplementation lasted throughout their winter body-mass gain period of four weeks. While the study was being conducted, the lemurs’ metabolic rate while they were at rest increased by 29%, and they consumed 13% fewer calories. The combined effect caused them to have less seasonal body-mass gain.

The study concludes that Resveratrol suppresses body mass gain in primates by increasing their metabolism and causing a reduced intake of calories.

Buccal Delivery for Improved Resveratrol Absorption

Studies show that intraoral resveratrol absorption through the buccal mucose (mouth tissue) produces the highest availability of unchanged resveratrol in plasma. When resveratrol is absorbed through the mouth tissues, without swallowing, the levels of unchanged resveratrol in blood plasma are up to 250 times higher than with an uncoated resveratrol pill.

The American Journal of Pathology reports that researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO have discovered new implications for the use of resveratrol – the polyphenol compound found in red wine – for preserving vision in blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy as well as age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 50. The study’s senior investigator, specialist Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, familiar with the research which links resveratrol as an anti-aging compound, was interested in researching its effects to age-related eye disease.

Effects of Resveratrol in Angiogenesis Process

The formation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, plays a key role in certain cancers and fat deposits that can clog arteries. Experiments were conducted in mouse retinas, and researchers found that resveratrol can inhibit angiogenesis. Mice that had developed abnormal blood vessels in the retina after laser treatment were given resveratrol, after which the abnormal blood vessels began to disappear.

Benefits of Resveratrol as Treatment for Eye Diseases

A resveratrol supplement treatment may help three major eye diseases: age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. All these diseases involve the obstruction or development of abnormal blood vessels beneath. Taking into account the almost 24 million persons affected with diabetes in the United States alone, and the aging of an entire generation of baby boomers, the incidence of these diseases is expected to grow within the next 10 years.

“This could potentially be a preventive therapy in high-risk patients,” says Dr. Apte. “And because it worked on existing, abnormal blood vessels in the animals, it may be a therapy that can be started after angiogenesis has already started to cause its damage.”

Because resveratrol is given orally, patients may prefer it to many current treatments for retinal disease, which involve eye injections.

Buccal Absorption of Resveratrol Supplements

The trials conducted involved large resveratrol dosage, much more than would be found in several bottles of red wine. This compound is easily absorbed in the body, but is most bioavailable when taken in the form of an intraoral buccal delivery resveratrol supplement. Absorption of resveratrol through the buccal mucosa without swallowing has been shown to have up to 250 greater levels of the compound in the blood plasma when compared to regular pills or capsules.

Researchers from the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Digestive Disease Center, Medical University of South Carolina, completed a unique study of resveratrol in 2004. The study was intended to determine the amount of resveratrol a human could absorb through oral dose.

Oral Doses of Resveratrol

Resveratrol has long been known to have verified positive impact on a variety of health issues, most notably prevention and suppression of various cancers and heart disease.

Scientific studies have dramatically shown the impact resveratrol (a compound naturally occurring in red wine and grapes) has on cancer cells and lipoproteins. However, the question was raised whether it was feasible that human beings could ingest and absorb enough resveratrol orally to generate the same results as produced in the laboratory. This is the question the team from the Medical University of South Carolina set out to answer.

Conclusion: Low bioavailability of resveratrol when ingested orally

It was discovered that while 70% of the resveratrol doses administered orally was absorbed, most of the resveratrol was soon metabolized and eliminated from the body via urine and feces. Only trace amounts of unchanged resveratrol were found in the bloodstream after a short period of time. These trace amounts do not have the capacity to reproduce the beneficial effects observed in laboratory settings.

Buccal delivery provides greater bioavailability

However, according to another study by Asensi M, Medina I, Ortega A, et al (2002), the most efficient way of administering resveratrol in humans appears to be buccal delivery. This group of researchers found that after keeping the trans-resveratrol compound inside the mouth for up to one minute – without swallowing – the levels of unchanged resveratrol in the bloodstream were 250 times higher to those obtained with pills. These findings make alternative delivery methods such as resveratrol melting tablets, lozenges and chewables more likely to produce the beneficial effects of resveratrol found in the laboratory.

In 2008, Tosca L. Zern, Richard J. Wood, Christine Greene, and Kristy L. West of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT and Yanzhu Liu, Dimple Aggarwal, Neil S. Shachter, and Maria Luz Fernandez of the Department of Medicine at Columbia University in New York, NY, on the effect of grape polyphenols on plasma, inflammation and oxidative stress in both Pre- menopausal and Post-menopausal women.

Resveratrol and Cholesterol

To evaluate the effects of grape polyphenols on plasma lipids, inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress, a sample of 24 pre-menopausal and 20 post-menopausal women were randomly assigned to consume grape powder or a placebo for 4 weeks. The grape powder was mostly carbohydrates, but was rich in polyphenols such as, flavans, anthocyanins, quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, and resveratrol.

Total cholesterol, total triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol, are three of the main risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). The loss of estrogen has a deep effect increasing plasma lipids and apolipoproteins associated with CHD.

Resveratrol lowers LDL “Bad” Cholesterol

Plasma triglyceride concentrations, plasma LDL cholesterol and apolipoproteins were reduced after the intake of grape powder. Results were more marked in pre-menopausal women (15%), than in post-menopausal women (6%). Bad cholesterol oxidation was not modified by the treatment. However, whole-body was significantly reduced after the intake of the resveratrol supplement. The grape supplement also decreased the levels of plasma tumor necrosis which plays a major role in the inflammation process.

In 2008, Jason G. Wood, Siva Lavu, and David Sinclair of the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston; Blanka Rogina and Stephen L. Helfand of the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington; Konrad Howitz of Biomol Research Laboratories in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania; and Marc Tatar of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island conducted a study on Sirtuin activating compounds and their life extending properties on animals due to their replication of the properties of caloric restriction.

Particulars of the Study

Caloric restriction extends lifespan in numerous species. Sirtuin activating compounds (STACs) can promote the survival of human cells and extend the lifespan of yeast. Because resveratrol can significantly extend lifespan in yeast the study analyzed whether it could also extend lifespan in other animals like worms and flies.

Key Findings for Life Extention

The study demonstrated that red wine resveratrol and other Sirtuin activating compounds activate sirtuins from a species of worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) and a species of fly (Drosophila melanogaster)and extend the lifespan of these animals without reducing their ability to reproduce.

A 1990 study by Yong Nam Han, Shi Yong Ryu, and Byung Hoon Han of the Natural Products Research Institute at Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea conducted at study in which they discovered that the antioxidant activity of resveratrol closely correlates with its ability to inhibit monoamine oxidase-A activity (the activity of molecules with a single amino acid).

Goal of This Study of Resveratrol

Resveratrol, a polyhydroxylstilbene, was reported to inhibit the activity of monoamine oxidase-A. In this study the team from Seoul National University hoped to discover a plausible mechanism by which red wine resveratrol is able to slow the activity level of monoamine oxidase-A.

Researchers first isolated a number of phenolic substances (among them resveratrol) in an attempt to find the most potent inhibitor of monoamine oxidase-A. Components of the study were serotonin and the mitochondrial MAO of rat brain.

Resveratrol as an antioxidant

The study revealed that not only was resveratrol the most powerful antioxidant of the monoamine oxidase-A inhibitors, it completely suppressed MAO-A and became, in the view of the research team, the selective agent for MAO-A inhibiting.

In 1998, O.P. Mgbonyebi, J. Russo, and I.H. Russo of the Breast Cancer Research Laboratory, Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia conducted studies revolving around the antiproliferative effect of resveratrol on breast epithelial cells.

Introduction to Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a phytoalexin, a natural antibiotic produced by plants. It can be found in many sources in the human diet, such as grapes, peanuts, blue berries, white and red wine, etc.

Basics of This Study of Resveratrol

In the current study, researchers examined synthetic resveratrol supplements to determine the extent of its ability to inhibit the proliferation (explosive reproduction) of malignant breast cancer cells.

Three forms of breast cancer were studied (MCF-7, MCF-10F, and MDA-MB-231). Each was treated with a variety of resveratrol doses (5, 10, 20, and 40 microg/ml).

The team determined that all three lines of breast cancer cells were affected by the resveratrol treatment. Results were dependent on the level of resveratrol dosage and the length of time the cells had been treated with the resveratrol.

Resveratrol was found to have substantial effect as a chemopreventative agent in both hormone responsive and non-responsive forms of breast cancer.

In a 2001 report made by researchers at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, and the University of Illinois Cancer Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago K.P.L. Bhat, J.W. Kosmeder II, and J.M. Pezzuto endeavored to summarize the health benefits of the naturally occurring polyphenol resveratrol.

Resveratrol naturally occurs in various plant-derived foods and beverages, such as grapes, peanuts, white and red wine, raw cranberry juice, and so forth. Its health benefits have been observed in the form of cancer prevention and prevention of heart disease among other things.

Antioxidant Benefits of Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a known antioxidant and its ability to promote nitric oxide production is well documented. It has also been shown to increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol which makes it highly beneficial as a cardiopreventative agent due to the fact that it protects against plaque build up in the arteries.

The estrogenic effect of resveratrol supplements make it a valuable instrument in the fight against breast cancer as it transfects breast cancer cells.

Finally, resveratrol’s anti-inflammatory properties make it useful as a neuroprotective agent. In such cases, resveratrol is able to assist the body in maintaining brain cell health.

Likely, researchers have only scratched the surface of the many health benefits resveratrol has. Additional studies will allow researchers to not only identify the exact mechanisms by which resveratrol positively impacts so many diseases, but also identify additional health issues that can be helped by resveratrol.