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

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.

A year 2000 report coordinated by Jiangang, Zou, Yuanzhu Huang, Qi Chen, Enhui Wei, Keijiang Cao, and Joseph M. Wu investigated the effects of resveratrol on low density proteins (LDL) also known as the “bad cholesterol.” This team of researchers tested resveratrol on LDLs using two different oxidation systems.

LDLs were isolated from the plasma of two groups of volunteers. Half of these volunteers’ LDLs were oxidized using Cu(2)-induced oxidation and the other half were oxidized with an Azo compound. In both cases, resveratrol doses were added at different concentrations. Any modifications to their LDL levels resulting from the resveratrol dosage were then monitored.

Effects of Resveratrol on LDLs

The LDLs that were oxidized using Cu(2) experienced a 70.5% reduction in TBARS (Thiobarbituric Acid). Higher concentrations had a greater effect on reduction of TBARS than lower doses did.

In these samples, relative electrophoretic mobility (REM) was reduced by 42.3% and macrophage (white blood cell) degradation by 65.7%.

Use of the LDLs oxidized by the Azo compound were intended to further validate the findings in the Cu(2) oxidized LDLs.

Conclusions of Resveratrol Study

The results of this study show that red wine esveratrol has a significant impact on the bad cholesterol lipoproteins that cause plaque build up in arteries.

The use of resveratrol interrupted known reactors in LDLs that cause the build up of plaque and eventual heart disease. Thus, resveratrol is a viable prevention mechanism for heart disease.