More Info on Resveratrol… Pretty Amazing!

There’s a lot of talk lately about Resveratrol. I reported on it a week or two ago. It seems that this natural compound, found in grape skin is making REAL headlines!

Red Wine Compound Could Boost Endurance

“Athletes and non-athletes alike may want to raise a glass to resveratrol, an ingredient in red wine that researchers say doubled the physical endurance of mice in a new study, while protecting them against diabetes and obesity. Mice given high doses of the compound were able to run twice as far on treadmills than they normally could, French researchers reported. Resveratrol might even help the rodents live longer, they say. ‘The compound resveratrol, found in the skin of red grapes and cranberries, was known to activate SIRT1, an enzyme known to be involved in lifespan extension,’ explained lead researcher Dr. Johan Auwerx, from the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in Illkirch, France. These results, published in the Nov. 16 issue of Cell, add to findings from a recent study that showed that resveratrol improved health and lengthened survival of mice placed on a high-calorie diet. While studies have so far been limited to mice, the French team said they had also found a genetic link to energy expenditure in humans that looks like it might be similarly affected by resveratrol. ‘Our study shows that activation of SIRT1 by resveratrol is a very promising and well-tolerated approach to treat common metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes,’ Auwerx said. The study involved obese mice with a condition that mimicked type 2 diabetes. Auwerx’s team found that resveratrol activated the SIRT1 gene, inducing the activity of mitochondria, the tiny energy factories within cells. By activating mitochondria, resveratrol causes the cells to burn more energy than they normally could. Burning more energy protects against fat accumulation and type 2 diabetes, the research team explained. Increasing mitochondria activity also improves the performance of certain tissues, most especially skeletal muscles. ‘That is why we saw a spectacular increase in endurance in the mice, which doubled the distance they run,’ Auwerx explained. ‘We showed this not only in cultured cells and mice, but also, more importantly, the first time in humans, where we linked the SIRT1 gene with energy expenditure,’ Auwerx said. Resveratrol or its analogs could prove useful in treating several diseases that are characterized by abnormal mitochondrial activity, Auwerx said. ‘In the first case, you can think about applications in the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes,’ he said. ‘Many more diseases could benefit from increased mitochondrial activity, most notably neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s,’ he added.”

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