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

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.

Resveratrol has been reported to have cancer prevention capabilities. The structural similarities between red wine resveratrol and a synthetic estrogen prompted Drs. Barry D. Gehm, Joanne M. McAndrews, Pei-Yu Chen, and J. Larry Jameson to study how resveratrol could affect the body’s estrogen receptor. In 1997, the doctors released a study from the Division of Endocrinology at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, IL.

The focus of this experiment was to investigate whether resveratro supplements could mimic the body’s estrogenic activity, which is known to produce a heart-protective benefit. Resveratrol did mimic estrogenic activity at concentrations that are needed to produce other benefits of resveratrol. Resveratrol was proven to be a ‘phytoestrogen’, which is a naturally occurring plant compound that has beneficial properties to fight cancers, heart disease and osteoporosis. Overall, resveratrol’s anti-cancer and anti-blood clotting activities show therapeutic promise.

Resveratrol and Red Wine for Heart Disease Prevention

This study shows that a few glasses of red wine may supply a sufficient amount of resveratrol. This also suggests that daily consumption of some red wines might produce significant concentrations of resveratro doses in the bloodstream. Resveratrol occurs naturally in grapes and other medicinal plants. In plants, resveratrol protects against fungal infections. Red wine has large amounts of resveratrol because resveratrol has high concentrations in grape skins. Because of the levels of resveratrol in red wine, moderate consumption of red wine may reduce the risk of heart disease. High concentrations of resveratrol without alcohol or calories may also be found in nutritional supplements.

In 1995, Doctors Cecil R. Pace-Asciak, Susan Hahn, Eleftherios P. Diamandis, George Soleas, and David M. Goldberg published a study from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Research Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. There is much evidence that suggests that red wine may be more effective than other alcoholic beverages in decreasing the risk of coronary heart disease death.

Polyphenol Resveratrol and its Effect on Blood Clots

Red wines are rich in phenolic compounds, like resveratrol, and may explain the protective qualities of red wine. This experiment studied the benefits of resveratrol on human blood platelet clotting.  The effects were compared with other wine phenolics and anti-oxidants. Trans-resveratrol was proven to reduce toxin induced blood platelet clotting. This means that trans-resveratrol reduced the risk or creation of harmful blood clots in laboratory experiments.

In this study, red wines with the alcohol content removed also reduced blood clotting, and its activity was comparable to trans-resveratrol’s concentrations in this experiment. The doctors noted that these results are consistent with the idea that trans-resveratrol may contribute to the protective role of red wine against coronary heart disease and artery clogging.