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Resveratrol: Health and Longevity

It has been known for over 70 years that a drastic reduction in caloric intake slows the pace of aging and increases maximum life span in mammals.8,9

For years, scientists had no notion of just how caloric restriction worked to prolong life. In 2005, however, Harvard scientist David Sinclair, PhD brought together what was then known about this phenomenon to suggest a new hypothesis, namely that this effect is “an active, highly conserved stress response that evolved early in history to increase an organism’s chance of surviving adversity”

The specific molecules that were being conserved turn out to be members of a protein family called the sirtuins (for silent information regulators), which are activated by caloric restriction.10

Decreased sirtuin activity seems to be intimately connected with the cell, tissue, and organ changes that typically occur with aging and that lead to many of the diseases we label “chronic age-related conditions” such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.4,12-16

Resveratrol has the remarkable ability to activate and promote sirtuin activity in virtually all cells, which has been shown to promote the repair and longevity functions that are observed in caloric restriction.6,14,15,18,19

Here are some of the benefits from laboratories around the world:

Many studies have identified the impact of resveratrol on reducing the risks of heart disease and the damage from strokes.20 Some of these discoveries include the reduction of atherosclerosis, including control of blood vessel diameter and muscle tone, inhibition of oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory effects, inhibition of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) oxidation, and a reduced “stickiness” of platelets leading to a reduction in deadly clot formation.21-25

The multiple health benefits have led even the conservative US Department of Health and Human Services to recommend moderate wine consumption because of its resveratrol content in its Healthy People 2010 initiative.26

Resveratrol also diminished levels of adhesion molecules in vessels walls that are responsible for promoting plaque and clot formation. Of course, the most exciting finding from this comprehensive study was that resveratrol actually reduced the number of atherosclerotic changes and the amount of fat deposition in and around the arteries in the supplemented animals.

Another manifestation of resveratrol’s cardiovascular benefit comes from the work of internists in Italy, who were interested in platelet aggregation (clumping), an important part of both atherosclerosis and acute clot formation in heart attacks and stroke.24 This study examined blood parameters from healthy volunteers before and after 15 days of controlled red or white wine intake. The researchers found that wine intake increased the production of the biochemical signaling molecule nitric oxide, blunting a pathological response that ultimately increases platelet aggregation.

In a remarkable set of studies, biochemists in Madras reported on a direct comparison of resveratrol with an oral glucose-lowering drug, glyclazide, in control of blood sugar levels in diabetic rats.48,49 The animals were treated with resveratrol orally for 30 days, and experienced a significant decrease in blood sugar, the target outcome. Of clinical importance, the animals also had significant reductions in levels of hemoglobin A1C, a sensitive marker of long-term sugar levels and of protein damage caused by exposure to elevated sugars. The animals were also found to have lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation and liver injury. The researchers noted that these effects are comparable with those of glyclazide, and concluded that “resveratrol may be considered as an effective therapeutic agent for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.”49

Another group of Spanish investigators studied obese rats in a model of the metabolic syndrome.50 These animals, like their human counterparts, have high plasma lipid (fat) levels, insulin resistance, and increased levels of inflammatory molecules produced in their abdominal fat—all destructive changes we know to be associated with cardiovascular disease and other metabolic syndrome consequences. Amazingly, all of these metabolic disruptions were significantly reduced when the animals received resveratrol supplementation. Interestingly, and significantly for overweight and obese humans, the supplemented animals also had reductions in their blood pressure. Encouragingly, resveratrol mimics many of the metabolic benefits of caloric restriction through its activation of sirtuins, without the deprivation associated with a reduced calorie diet.51

Summary

The plant-derived polyphenol resveratrol, and especially its highly active form, trans-resveratrol,5,59,66 has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, making it a key item in our armamentarium of supplements that can prevent age-associated chronic illness.

Resveratrol continues to be linked to the life-extending effects of the powerful sirtuin molecules that control the fundamental processes associated with aging itself. By potently activating sirtuins, resveratrol stabilizes DNA to prevent cancerous changes, switches on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory defense mechanisms native to cells, and even instructs certain cells to commit organized suicide by apoptosis. The end result is an almost incredible array of health benefits, from reduction in cardiovascular risk factors to protection against neurodegenerative disease to cancer prevention.

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For more information, please visit this articles web page.

This article was published on Thursday August 13, 2009.

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