Resveratrol
Resveratrol
is a powerful antioxidant more commonly known as the active ingredient in red
wine. Resveratrol very likely has more health benefits than just protecting
against heart disease thereby impacting medical fields in various ways. According to Australian researcher Lindsay Brown, the
breadth of benefits is remarkable – cancer prevention, protection of the heart
and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases such as inflammation,
reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more. It has long been a question as
to how such a simple compound could have these effects but now the puzzle is
becoming clearer with the discovery of the pathways, especially the sirtuins, a
family of enzymes that regulate the production of cellular components by the
nucleus (Brown 2009). The medical community has yet to jump on the resveratrol
wagon (pending FDA approval) making its viability as a go-to pharmaceutical less
likely. Still, the powerful health food industrial complex found a way to
capitalize on the early buzz.
So, why hasn’t
the scientific community moved forward in developing its commercial application?
The answer is one of a legal nature. The much-touted health benefits of red wine took a hit recently. Dipak Das, a
University of Connecticut researcher who has published extensively on the
positive effects of resveratrol, was found guilty on 145 counts of fabrication
and falsification of data published in 11 different journals. Scientific
institutional forces acted quickly to distance itself from the fallout of the
investigations. Unfortunately, the move delayed any momentum gathered by
researchers leading various studies. However, other researchers in the field
are quick to point out that while the charges might mean the end of Das’s
career, resveratrol research is alive and well. If resveratrol is to regain its
promise to extend life, countervailing arguments within the scientific community
will have to diminish.
References
Brown, Lindsay (2009). The Biological
Responses to Resveratrol and Other Polyphenols From Alcoholic Beverages.
Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 2009; DOI:
10.1111/j.1530-0277.2009.00989.x
Comments (0)
Post a Comment