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

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.

A 2001 study by K. Igura, T. Ohta, Y. Kuroda, and K. Kaji of the Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology of Aging, Graduate School of Nutritional and Environmental Sciences at the University of Shizuoka, Yada in Shizuoka, Japan analyzed the effects resveratrol had on the creation of blood vessels in tumors.

Intent of the Study

The purpose of this study was to analyze two polyphenols and determine the extent to which they are able to inhibit angiogenesis (the development of blood vessels) in tumors.

Both resveratrol and quercetin were studied in varying doses on bovine aorta endothelial (BAE) cells.

Effects of Polyphenols on Angiogenesis

Both resveratrol and quercetin inhibited the migration of BAE which, in turn, stalled vascular formation. Resveratrol inhibited cell growth, to a substantial degree at all dosages while quercetin had a weak effect at lower doses.

Overall Conclusions of Resveratrol Study

Resveratrol doses can have a significant effect on vascular growth in tumors. Without blood flow to the tumors, they become oxygen-deprived and inhibiting growth of the tumor cells. In fact, Resveratrol instigates early natural death in tumor cells.

At the School of Life Sciences at Lanzhou University, G.A. Liu and R.L. Zheng conducted research into the ability of polyphenols (groups of chemicals found in plants) to protect healthy cells against diseases like heart disease and cancer at the cellular level.

Seven polyphenols were studied, among them resveratrol.

DNA damage was induced by using hydrogen peroxide on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) which is known to cause single strand breakage in DNA. The researchers then observed the ability of the seven polyphenols to protect the cells against the damage the hydrogen peroxide was invoking on the cellular DNA.

Resveratrol Provides Significant Cell Protection

Resveratrol, as well as others of the seven tested polyphenols, had a substantial impact on inhibiting cell damage. The impact was dose-dependent as higher doses were more effective in cell protection.

Some of the polyphenols, however, failed to provide any protection. In fact, only three had any effect in protecting the cells against hydrogen peroxide damage (resveratrol, quercetin, and 7.8-dihydroxy-4-methyl coumarin), but these had a big enough impact to convince the researchers that they had discovered a possible mechanism explaining resveratrol’s outstanding track record in protecting against cancer and heart disease.

Hai-Bo Zhou, Juan-Juan Chen, Wen-Xia Wang, Jian-Ting Cai, and Qin Du of the Department of Gastroenerology in the Second Hospital of Zhejiang University set out to study the effects of resveratrol on stomach cancer. The 2004 study revealed some critical findings about resveratrol.

The researchers transplanted human stomach cancer into the subcutaneous tissue of nude mice to determine resveratrol’s effect on live candidates.

Three different doses of resveratrol were tested (500 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg, and 1500 mg/kg). The dose was directly injected beside the tumor in each candidate. Changes in tumor size were then monitored.

Effects of Resveratrol on Stomach Cancer Tumors

In all cases, the resveratrol inhibited cell growth significantly. As the dose increased, the inhibition rate also increased. In fact, at 1500 mg/kg inhibition rate reached nearly 40%.

In addition to the growth inhibiting effect, resveratrol also induced cell apoptosis (natural cell death) in the cancer cells. A marked reduction of tumor size was observed.

Resveratrol slowed cell development in the stomach cancer cells at a rate of up to 40% and initiated apoptosis in the gastric carcinoma cells.

Doctors Z.J. Sun, H.S. Liu, and G.J. Wang published a study in 2002 that examined the anti-tumor effect of resveratrol, a red wine ingredient, and the effects of resveratrol with an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug on the growth of liver cancer cells.

The doctors, from the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery at the First Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, China, tested their theory in a controlled environment. The doctors wanted to see if resveratrol and an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug could work together to produce an outcome on the liver cancer cells that couldn’t have been reached with either agent alone.

The study shows that red wine resveratrol did restrict the growth of liver cancer cells. The doctors also found that the combined anti-tumor effects of resveratrol and the chemotherapy drug were greater than the effects of liver cancer cells treated with only the chemo drug.

Overall, resveratrol supplements can suppress the growth of liver cancer cells in a controlled laboratory-testing environment. Also, resveratrol’s anti-tumor activity may occur through the initial processes of programmed cell death, where younger cells replace old cells.

A study on the combined effects of resveratrol and a naturally derived chemotherapy drug on lung cancer cells was published in 2003 by Drs. T. Kubota, Y. Uemura, M. Kobayashi and H. Taquchi from the Department of Medicine at the Kochi Medical School in Kochi, Japan.

Red wine resveratrol is a natural compound found in grapes and other food products that can help prevent cancer.  The results of this study suggest that resveratrol may be a promising alternative therapy for lung cancer. The research also suggests that lung cancer cells that have been exposed to resveratrol have a lower tolerance level to be destroyed by the chemotherapy drug, paclitaxel, which is similarly abstracted from natural plant substances.

Resveratrol Enhances the Therapeutic Effects of Paclitaxel in Lung Cancer Cells

The doctors found that resveratrol prevented the growth of three lung cancer cell lines by 50%. They examined the combined effects in cells of resveratrol and paclitaxel. Paclitaxel is an important cancer prevention agent against lung cancer. Resveratrol enhanced the subsequent restriction of cells caused by the chemotherapy drug.

There are different ways to ingest the grape polyphenol called resveratrol. There is also research supporting that moderate red wine drinking supplies the body with small doses of resveratrol. There are also resveratrol supplement tablets and pills for people who do not drink alcohol.

A 2003 case study from the Facoltá di Medicina e Chirurgia in the Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Tecnologie Biomediche at the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca in Monza, Italy found that trans-resveratrol, a form of the red wine ingredient called resveratrol, effects toxin induced cell death in tumor cells.

Along with a naturally derived chemotherapy cancer drug, Trans-resveratrol helps to induce cell death in cancerous tumor cells. In the human body, there are pathways that allow cells to respond to environmental factors, trans-resveratrol aids by regulating these pathways.

Drs. G. Nicolini, R. Rigolio, A. Scuteri, M. Miloso, D. Saccomanno, G. Cavaletti and G. Tredici performed this experiment on molecular level to find that trans-resveratrol interacts with Paclitaxel, a type of cancer treatment drug that is derived from natural substances in plants. Trans-resveratrol and resveratrol are also naturally derived from plants, like grapes. Trans-resveratrol and resveratrol can be consumed by drinking red wine. The most effective way to ingest this compound is in the form of a resveratrol supplement that the effects are more direct.