What’s happening in the world of resveratrol research?
Resveratrol (3,4′,5-trihydroxystilbene) belongs to a class of polyphenolic compounds called stilbenes and is commonly found in grapes, red wine, purple grape juice, peanuts and some berries. Last november it started making headlines following CNN’s reporting of a Nature paper which studied the effects in mice and reported improved health and survival, shifting the physiology of middle-aged mice on a high-calorie diet towards that of mice on standard diet (sounds like something I could use right now).
This isn’t the only reason to be drinking red wine though, a second Nature paper showed an impressive linear correlation between vasoactive properties and procyanidin content of red wine, a type of flavonoid polyphenol, which is thought to work by inhibiting angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE).
This is all interesting but we want to see the human trials, and now is about the time Sirtris Pharmaceuticals should be delivering results of a trial with diabetes patients.
Resveratrol has long been known to stimulate the activity of Sir2 which is thought to be involved in diet-restriction-induced longevity in worms. How this relates to a recent study by MIT researchers, that found two critical neurons in C. elegans involved in this process, remains unclear.
Of course, figuring out a way to make money from such an easily extracted (from Polygonum cuspidatum) small molecule would be a problem for many pharmaceutical companies, which is the subject of this very interesting and alternative perspective on ‘the conspiracy of silence’.
So, kick back, open up a bottle of red-wine, and check these funky mice,
