PURPOSE: Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound mainly abundant in red wines, has beneficial cardiovascular effects on various pathological conditions. However, at present, the effect of resveratrol on health promotion remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we assessed whether long-term resveratrol supplementation changes endothelial function, vascular contractility, nitric oxide and superoxide production in healthy male and female rats.

Resveratrol has been found to inhibit the proliferation of a variety of human cancer cell lines, including those from breast, prostate, stomach, colon, pancreatic, and thyroid cancers (2). In animal models, oral administration of resveratrol inhibited the development of esophageal (75), intestinal (76), and mammary (breast) cancer (20, 77) induced by chemical carcinogens. However, oral resveratrol was not effective in inhibiting the development of lung cancer induced by carcinogens in cigarette smoke (78, 79).

The benefits of alcohol are all about moderation. Low to moderate drinking – especially of red wine – appears to reduce all causes of mortality, while too much drinking causes multiple organ damage.

A mini-review of recent findings on red wine's polyphenols, particularly one called resveratrol, will be published in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research; the review is also available at Early View. "Reports on the benefits of red wine are almost two centuries old," said Lindsay Brown, associate professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Queensland and corresponding author for the study.

"The media developed the more recent story of the French paradox in the early 1990s. However, studies on the actions of resveratrol, one of the active non-alcoholic ingredients, were uncommon until research around 1997 showed prevention of cancers. This led to a dramatic interest in this compound." (See attached figure.)

BACKGROUND: Chemoprevention utilizing dietary agents is an effective means to slow the development of prostate cancer. We evaluated the potential additive and synergistic effects of genistein and resveratrol for suppressing prostate cancer in the Simian Virus-40 T-antigen (SV-40 Tag) targeted probasin promoter rat model, a transgenic model of spontaneously developing prostate cancer. METHODS: Rats were fed genistein or resveratrol (250 mg/kg AIN-76A diet) alone and in combination, and a low-dose combination (83 mg genistein + 83 mg resveratrol/kg diet). Histopathology and mechanisms of action studies were conducted at 30 and 12 weeks of age, respectively. RESULTS: Genistein, resveratrol, and the high-dose combination treatments suppressed prostate cancer. The low-dose combination did not elicit protection against prostate cancer and was most likely below the effective dose for causing significant histopathological changes. Total genistein and resveratrol concentrations in the blood reached 2,160 and 211 nM, respectively in rats exposed to the single treatments.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 3, 2008 -- Sirtris, a GlaxoSmithKline company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat diseases of aging such as Type 2 Diabetes, is included among a research team that reported in today's online edition of Cell Metabolism that mice treated at middle-age to the end-of-life with resveratrol showed an overall health improvement, including improved bone health, a reduction in cataracts and cardiovascular dysfunction, and improved balance and motor coordination.

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring phytoalexine found in medicinal plants. We found that resveratrol, at doses of 2.5 and 10 mg/kg, significantly reduced the tumor volume (42%), tumor weight (44%) and metastasis to the lung (56%) in mice bearing highly metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumors, but not at a dose of 0.6 mg/kg. Resveratrol did not affect the number of CD4(+), CD8(+) and natural killer (NK)1.1.(+) T cells in the spleen.

Emodin-8-O-beta-D-glucoside extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc is widely used to treat acute hepatitis possibly by antioxidative mechanisms. The present study was designed to investigate whether emodin-8-O-beta-D-glucoside exerted neuroprotective effects on the focal cerebral injury induced by ischemia and reperfusion in vivo and on the neuronal damage induced by glutamate in vitro, and to study the possible mechanisms. Male Wistar rats were used to establish the model of ischemia and reperfusion.

Many species of Polygonum are rich in bioactive constituents, which contribute to a wide range of medicinal properties. In this study, we assessed the scavenging activity against ABTS.+ and hydroxyl radicals, chelating activity against Fe2+, xanthine oxidase inhibition, antimicrobial activity, and total contents of phenolics and flavonoids in the extracts of leaves and stems or whole plants from four medicinal Polygonum species.

CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are negative regulator of the immune system and main obstacles to cancer immunotherapy in tumor-bearing hosts. Resveratrol is a natural product found in grapes with both immunomodulatory and anticancer effects, which can be controlled by Treg cells. Therefore, to determine whether resveratrol performs these actions via Treg cells, we investigated changes in Treg cell population and immunomodulatory cytokines in EG7 tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice.