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 Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common hormonal endocrine disorders that affects around 5-10 percent of women of childbearing age and is characterized by abnormal hormone levels. It is a condition that affects how a woman's ovaries work.
Scientists have found that resveratrol – the natural anti-oxidant compound found in red wine as well as grapes can help address this hormone imbalance in what has been the first clinical trial to evaluate the endocrine and metabolic effects of resveratrol on PCOS.
"Our study is the first clinical trial to find resveratrol significantly lowers PCOS patients' levels of testosterone as well as DHEAS, another hormone that the body can convert into testosterone," says the study's senior author Dr. Antoni Duleba who says "This nutritional supplement can help moderate the hormone imbalance that is one of the central features of PCOS."
While the exact cause of PCOS is unknown, it is related to abnormal hormone levels in the body, including high levels of insulin. Women with PCOS produce marginally higher amounts of testosterone and other "male hormones" than average. Elevation of these hormones can contribute to weight gain and diabetes etc. Most treatment strategies focus on management of individual concerns, such as fertility, obesity and the use of birth control pills to decrease androgen production.
The Study in Poland
Study participants were recruited at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland, for the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. A total of 30 women with PCOS were randomly assigned to two groups that were treated daily with 1,500 milligrams of resveratrol or placebo. Evaluations in the form of blood samples were performed at the start of the study and repeated after 3 months of treatment to determine levels of testosterone and other androgen hormones.
Diabetes risk factors improved with resveratrol
Participants also underwent a glucose tolerance test at the beginning and end of the study to measure diabetes risk factors. The researchers found that resveratrol not only moderated androgen hormones, but it also improved diabetes risk factors. Among the women who received resveratrol, insulin levels while fasting declined by 31.8 percent during the 3-month study. Furthermore, over the course of the research, the participants of the resveratrol group became more responsive to the hormone insulin. Many women with PCOS are resistant to the action of insulin in their body and produce higher levels of insulin to compensate.
"The findings suggest resveratrol can improve the body's ability to use insulin and potentially lower the risk of developing diabetes. The supplement may be able to help reduce the risk of metabolic problems common in women with PCOS."
Source: Medical News Today
The study is only the first clinical trial and was done with resveratrol and not red wine. The Source of funding the Research has also not been disclosed-editor
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