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

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.

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.

The Department of Animal Biology-II (Animal Physiology) and the Faculty of Biology at the Compultense University in Madrid, Spain, Drs. S. Cadenas and G. Baria released a study in 1999 reporting that resveratrol, a red wine ingredient, can protect against DNA damage induced by a kidney cancer-causing substance.

Antioxidants melatonin, vitamin E, and resveratrol have free radical scavenger properties that can decrease the damaging effects of free radicals in the environment. These antioxidants can provide preventative and therapeutic advantages.

The research shows that resveratrol completely depleted a dangerous kidney carcinogen and was partially depleted by melatonin and vitamin E. The study also showed that administering a resveratrol dosage prevented an increase in relative kidney weight induced by the cancer-causing agent.

The results proved that resveratrol, among other antioxidants, and a free radical trap can prevent oxygen induced DNA damage in the kidney by the experiment’s cancer causing agent, or carcinogen.

Publishers from Life Science released a study from researchers from the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Rome, Italy in November, 2001 that provides evidence that resveratrol, an ingredient in red wine, may aid in the healthy function of human immune cells.

Drs. R. Falchetti, M.P. Fuggetta, G. Lanzilli, M. Tricarico, and G. Ravagnan published findings showing that red wine resveratrol has a wide range of activities affecting the human immune system.

Antioxidant Resveratrol Jump Starts Immune Cell Production

Resveratrol was shown to jump start immune cell production and growth even at low concentrations. The human immune system produces many types of cells to help protect the body. Resveratrol was seen to affect the production of one such cell called cytokine, which is a type of white blood cell that is involved in cellular reproduction, growth, immunity and tolerance. These types of blood cells are essential for regulating the immune system’s response to infections.

Resveratrol is found in red wine but can also be consumed in supplement form. The benefits of consuming resveratrol supplements are many. Specifically, resveratrol can aid the immune system in producing the many types of white blood cells that are necessary to help the body fight infections and disease.

Other important functions of resveratrol in regard to the immune system include aiding cells in response to ultra violet radiation exposure, free radicals, and bacterial or viral antibodies. Even at very low levels, resveratrol can help activate human immune system responses.