Sometimes the claims for an obscure chemical compound that provides wondrous health benefits can be off the charts. Resveratrol, the compound in red wine found to have anti-aging properties, has been included in products that promise weight loss, lower cholesterol, lower risk of heart ailments and many other benefits. Its entire benefit to the human body is still unclear and still being researched.
Now, however, comes evidence of just how much we have to learn about this remarkable substance. The Science Daily is reporting that resveratrol has been used to help control diabetes in laboratory mice. Researchers at the University of Texas have published a study that will appear in the medical journal Endocrinology in December, describing their discoveries.
“Resveratrol activates sirtuins, a class of proteins that are thought to underlie many of the beneficial effects of calorie restriction. Previous studies in mice have provided compelling evidence that when sirtuins are activated by resveratrol, diabetes is improved. Sirtuin activators are now being tested in humans as anti-diabetic compounds.”
Sirtuin proteins are present throughout the body and it is still not clear where and how resveratrol interacts with them to provide health benefits. In the case of this laboratory study, resveratrol was applied directly to the brain. Says Dr, Roberto Coppari, co-author of the study, “To test the hypothesis, we assessed the metabolic consequences of delivering resveratrol directly into the brain of diabetic mice. We found that resveratrol did activate sirtuins in the brain of these mice which resulted in improving their high levels of blood sugar and insulin.”
This discovery gives medical researchers a new path to controlling diabetes. By working with sirtuin present in the brain, it may be possible to develop Type II diabetes treatments that do not have the negative impact on the liver or other organs those insulin treatments can have today. Maybe all those claims for the health benefits from resveratrol aren’t just speculation after all!