Researchers have found further health benefits of the plant compound resveratrol, found in red wine.
The compound prolongs lifespan and long-term health by boosting the activity of the energy suppliers of bodily cells, the mitochondria, say Dr David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and his team.
The team has researched resveratrol for several years, finding that it boosts cells’ energy production and overall health by activating a group of genes called sirtuins.
In test on yeast, worms and flies, cells lacking an important sirtuin gene called SIRT1 don’t respond to resveratrol. The team has recently been able to observe the same effect in mice, too. But mice with normal SIRT1 function show dramatic increases in energy when given resveratrol.
Dr Sinclair explains: "The results were surprisingly clear. Without the mitochondria-boosting gene SIRT1, resveratrol does not work." Full details were published in the journal Cell Metabolism yesterday.
The researchers say this confirms the previously unclear role of SIRT1. The gene is in fact essential for the health benefits of resveratrol, they state.
"For the downstream benefits on energy, you need SIRT1," said Dr Sinclair. "Our paper shows that SIRT1 is front and centre for any dose of resveratrol."
Dr Leonard Guarente of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, comments: "The mechanism of SIRT1 activation by small molecules [such as resveratrol] is of great relevance to developing medicines for diseases of aging."
Other research has looked at the possible beneficial effects of resveratrol on cancer, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases.
SIRT1 Is Required for AMPK Activation and the Beneficial Effects of Resveratrol on Mitochondrial Function. Price, N. L. et al. Cell Metabolism May 1 2012 Volume 15 Number 5.
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