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Another Prize for Significant Scientific Agreement

Resveratrol

Among natural products well along with SSA and now close to confirmation as an anti-disease agent is resveratrol, the polyphenol common in skins of dark grapes -- the Berry King click.

In grapes and other plants, resveratrol belongs to a class of chemicals called alexins needed for defense against pests and diseases like viruses and bacterial or fungal infections.

First studied 120 years ago by winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Paul Ehrlich of Germany, alexins proved applicable to human immune responses, becoming a basis for Ehrlich's concept that a “magic bullet” -- or a drug with very specific anti-disease properties -- could be developed to treat insoluble diseases of a century ago like sleeping sickness and syphilis.

A handful of resveratrol, present also in blueberry skins.

Now, resveratrol and its analogs like pterostilbene are being examined as potential retardant or preventative agents for what many scientists consider is the pinnacle of modern health issues – aging.

Are we chasing the Fountain of Youth?

Does resveratrol have anti-aging properties?

Certain to involve innumerable onset factors, aging not only is a natural process that can occur gracefully, but also is a condition in which many people fall vulnerable to most major diseases of the developed world.

Postponing aging would be interesting for some. Deterring diseases in advancing years would be welcomed by everyone.

In science, the only intervention that consistently has made research animals healthier during aging is calorie restriction, now so convincing that many clinicians recommend reduction of food intake for elderly patients to lose 10% or more of what might be considered normal body weight.

Providing overall nutrient intake is good, calorie restriction also may

• chronically lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels
• reduce high blood pressure
• lower hormonal responses to stress
• enable extraordinary physical endurance shown in some laboratory studies

Building research achievement toward business operations: sirtuin

The research excitement about resveratrol began with a 2003 study indicating that the compound mimicked effects of calorie restriction in yeast cells, extending their longevity by 70%. Similar results were later seen in roundworms, fruit flies, rodents, fish and dogs.

Resveratrol's main target in the body appears to be an enzyme called sirtuin (named esoterically the “silent information regulator” then abbreviated by scientists as SIRT1) which can lower blood sugar levels in obese mice with diabetes.

A biotechnology company founded on resveratrol:

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The anti-aging properties of resveratrol and sirtuins were so specific, fertile and promising for developing anti-aging drugs for today's major diseases that a biotechnology company called Sirtris Pharmaceuticals was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2004, becoming a public company traded on NASDAQ in 2007.

Just a year later in June 2008, Sirtris was acquired by the pharma giant, GlaxoSmithKline for $720 million.

Read the Glaxo press release ! click

Scientists, entrepreneurs and investors are justifiably proud and excited about the potential for Sirtris, a crowning achievement for resveratrol and sirtuin research.

Evidence is gathering that these compounds have significant potential benefits associated with anti-aging and general disease factors.

These include

• anti-inflammation
• anti-platelet aggregation
• anti-cancer
• modulation of lipoprotein metabolism
• reversal of cognitive behavioral deficits during aging
• improvement of working memory
• inhibiting development of Alzheimer's disease
• retarding progression of atherosclerosis
• regulation of dilating and constricting factors that control blood vessel tone
• inhibiting oxidative stress/reactive oxygen species generation ('antioxidant')

What foods other than dark grapes (and red wines) contain resveratrol in their skins or seeds?

Blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, black currants and seaberries ("sea buckthorn").

Peanuts with skins and peanut butter are also good sources.