Two studies on the health effects of red
wine’s essential element
By Science Daily with commentary from Will
Collette
My doctor advised me that
one to two glasses of red wine a day is not only acceptable but healthy. It
lowers my blood glucose and aids in controlling my diabetes. Plus, lots of
medical research points to numerous health benefits from red wine’s high levels
of resveratrol.
Lots of other doctors across
the US also recommend red wine. Millions of health conscious consumers are
plunking down serious money to buy capsules of resveratrol.
Since I enjoy my glass of
red wine and am hopeful that it will deliver on all those health benefits, I
have been paying attention to the research. I noted with interest that on the
same day, Science Daily published
reviews of two separate medical research studies on the effects of resveratrol
that underscore how you have to pay attention and remember that there are very
few universal cures.
Here are the two Science Daily abstracts"
Red Wine Chemical,
Resveratrol, Remains Effective Against Cancer After the Body Converts It
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Resveratrol, Found
in Red Wine, Worsens MS-Like Symptoms
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A chemical found in red wine remains
effective at fighting cancer even after the body's metabolism has converted
it into other compounds.
This is an important finding in a new
paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine by
Cancer Research UK-funded researchers at the University of Leicester's Department
of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine.
The paper reveals that resveratrol --
a compound extracted from the skins of red grapes -- is not rendered
ineffective once it is metabolised by the body.
This is an important development, as
resveratrol is metabolised very quickly -- and it had previously been thought
that levels of the extracted chemical drop too quickly to make it usable in
clinical trials.
The new research shows that the
chemical can still be taken into cells after it has been metabolised into
resveratrol sulfates.
Enzymes within cells are then able to
break it down into resveratrol again -- meaning that levels of resveratrol in
the cells are higher than was previously thought.
In fact, the results appear to show
resveratrol may be more effective once it has been generated from resveratrol
sulfate than it is if it has never been metabolised because the
concentrations achieved are higher.
The team, led by University of
Leicester translational cancer research expert Professor Karen Brown, administered
resveratrol sulfate to mice models.
They were subsequently able to detect
free resveratrol in plasma and a variety of tissues in the mice.
This is the first direct sign that
resveratrol can be formed from resveratrol sulfate in live animals, and the
researchers think it may help to show how resveratrol is able to have
beneficial effects in animals.
The study also showed that
resveratrol generated from resveratrol sulfate is able to slow the growth of
cancer cells by causing them to digest their own internal constituents and
stopping them from dividing.
Professor Karen Brown said:
"There is a lot of strong evidence from laboratory models that
resveratrol can do a whole host of beneficial things -- from protecting
against a variety of cancers and heart disease to extending lifespan.
"It has been known for many
years that resveratrol is rapidly converted to sulfate and glucuronide
metabolites in humans and animals -- meaning the plasma concentrations of
resveratrol itself quickly become very low after administration.
"It has always been difficult to
understand how resveratrol is able to have activity in animal models when the
concentrations present are so low, and it has made some people skeptical
about whether it might have any effects in humans.
"Researchers have hypothesized
for a long time that resveratrol might be regenerated from its major
metabolites in whole animals but it has never been proven.
"Our study was the first to show
that resveratrol can be regenerated from sulfate metabolites in cells and
that this resveratrol can then have biological activity that could be useful
in a wide variety of diseases in humans.
"Importantly, we did all our
work with clinically achievable concentrations so we are hopeful that our
findings will translate to humans.
"Overall, I think our findings
are very encouraging for all types of medical research on resveratrol. They
help to justify future clinical trials where, previously, it may have been
difficult to argue that resveratrol can be useful in humans because of the
low detectable concentrations.
"There is considerable
commercial interest in developing new forms of resveratrol that can resist or
overcome the issue of rapid metabolism. Our results suggest such products may
not actually be necessary to deliver biologically active doses of resveratrol
to people."
Dr Sarah Williams, Cancer Research UK
health information officer, said: "This interesting study supports
continued research into resveratrol as a therapeutic molecule, but it's
important to note that any benefits from the molecule don't come from
drinking red wine. It's well established that drinking any type of alcohol,
including red wine, increases the risk of developing cancer."
The study was carried out over eight
years, and was funded by the Cancer Research UK and National Institute for
Health Research (NIHR) Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre in Leicester, and
the US National Cancer Institute.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Leicester, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited
above.
Journal Reference:
1.
Ketan R. Patel, Catherine Andreadi,
Robert G. Britton, Emma Horner-Glister, Ankur Karmokar, Stewart Sale,
Victoria A. Brown, Dean E. Brenner, Rajinder Singh, William P. Steward,
Andreas J. Gescher and Karen Brown. Sulfate Metabolites Provide an
Intracellular Pool for Resveratrol Generation and Induce Autophagy with
Senescence. Science Translational Medicine, 2013 DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.3005870
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University of Leicester (2013, October 2). Red wine
chemical, resveratrol, remains effective against cancer after the body
converts it. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131002141113.htm
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Resveratrol, a naturally occurring
polyphenol compound produced by the skin of red grapes and peanuts, and found
in red wine, has been touted as a beneficial supplement due to its
anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
This has been supported by some
experimental studies, whereas others suggest a lack of benefit.
A new study using two multiple sclerosis
(MS) models published in The American Journal of Pathology has
found that resveratrol actually worsened MS-like neuropathology and
inflammation and had no neuroprotective effects.
"Resveratrol may have detrimental
effects in some disease conditions and should be discouraged for supplemental
use by MS patients pending further research," says lead investigator
Ikuo Tsunoda, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology
and Immunology, Center for Molecular & Tumor Virology of the Louisiana
State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA.
Investigators (Fumitaka Sato, PhD, et al)
tested resveratrol in autoimmune and viral models of MS. In the autoimmune
model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in
6-week-old mice using myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)35-55 peptide.
Mice were fed either a control diet or a
diet containing resveratrol for 2 months or only during the early (days -1 to
8) or the late (days 14 to 23) phases of EAE.
Around 12 days after MOG sensitization, all
groups started to develop clinical signs, such as tail and hind limb
paralysis, and the symptoms worsened and peaked by 3 weeks.
After 5 weeks, mice fed the control diet
showed either complete recovery or mild paralysis, but all three groups fed
resveratrol exhibited severe and lasting EAE without remission.
Spinal cord neuropathology showed higher
pathology scores in demyelination, meningitis, perivascular cuffing
(inflammation), and overall pathology in mice that had been given resveratrol
during the early phase compared with mice fed a control diet, whereas mice
treated with resveratrol during the entire treatment period had significantly
higher pathology scores in meningitis and overall pathology than controls.
Groups did not differ in brain pathology
scores.
Although it has been suggested that
resveratrol has anti-inflammatory properties, in this study resveratrol did
not suppress autoimmune responses as measured by levels of MOG35-55-specific
lymphoproliferative responses and pro-inflammatory cytokine production.
To see whether resveratrol had anti-viral
properties, as has been reported, 5-week-old mice were infected
intracerebrally with the Daniels (DA) strain of Theiler's murine
encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) to induce TMEV-induced demyelinating disease
(TMEV-IDD).
The mice were fed either a control diet or
one containing resveratrol from days 35 to 48 (the chronic phase).
Similar to the findings from the EAE model,
mice treated with resveratrol developed significantly more severe TMEV-IDD
compared with the controls.
Another study using the GDVII strain of
TMEV to see whether resveratrol could suppress neurodegeneration caused by
direct viral infection, not by immunopathology, found that resveratrol had no
neuroprotective activity against the virus.
"Resveratrol did not show anti-viral
effects in TMEV infection," says Dr. Tsunoda, although he notes that
resveratrol has been shown by others to have anti-viral effects on some
viruses related to MS, such as herpes simplex virus and Epstein-Barr virus.
To explain their findings, the authors
suggest that resveratrol's vasodilating effects via endothelial cells might
enhance infiltration of inflammatory cells into the central nervous system,
which in turn might play a key role in the pathogenesis of MS.
The degree to which resveratrol exacerbated
demyelination and inflammation surprised the research team.
"Our findings illustrate that caution
should be exercised for potential therapeutic application of resveratrol in
human inflammatory demyelination diseases, including MS," says Dr.
Tsunoda.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Elsevier
Health Sciences, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content
and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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Elsevier Health Sciences
(2013, October 1). Resveratrol, found in red wine, worsens MS-like symptoms. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001091501.htm
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