A review of past studies on red-wine polyphenols, to be published in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research found that resveratrol is the key ingredient that provides the potential health benefits although the red wine contains a mixture of compounds such as flavonols, organic acids and anthocyanins.
Researchers at the University of Queensland analyzed recent research that focused primarily on resveratrol. They found the weight of evidence supported two main theories- Resveratrol tends to kill cancer cells and protects heart cells and helps in protection from brain ailments.
They also looked at chemical compounds analyzed in research papers and found that some compounds like turmeric (a centuries-old key Indian spice used in all curries and believed to have antibiotic properties by several doctors in India) showed potential for health benefits.
But they noted that in recent years the number of studies on resveratrol have skyrocketed, from less than five hundred in 2000 to more than three thousand in 2009. The researchers looked for commonalities in the data in these studies.
All three studies share a common thread; resveratrol affects the body on a cellular level. Several studies have found that red wine can be beneficial by improving circulation, but the research is getting closer to understanding how wine does it on a cellular level, according to an essay published in Wine Spectator.
Lindsay Brown, an associate professor at the University of Queensland says in a statement that ‘it sounds contradictory that a single compound can benefit the heart by preventing damage to cells, yet prevent cancer by causing cell death.’
However, his colleague, Stephen Taylor, highlights a growing flaw in the on- going research. "Resveratrol is largely inactivated by the gut or liver before it reaches the blood stream, where it exerts its effects," he said. "Thus most of the resveratrol in imbibed red wine does not reach the circulation."
However, he does not rule out that resveratrol may still be effectively absorbed in some other way that remains as yet unknown. A possibility could be through the mucous membranes in the mouth. This would also explain why the red wine drinkers who generally sip wine slowly, allowing it to linger on the palate before swallowing, are generally found healthier in the studies.
Another study to be published in Cellular and Molecular Biology, finds that resveratrol may ward off the brain damaging effects of Parkinson's disease. Taking a different approach, the researchers study resveratrol along with another red-wine polyphenol called quercetin.
The study by the department of biochemistry and neuroscience at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières found that both compounds helped prevent a Parkinson's disease-related neurotoxin from killing brain cells. But because the results were in the lab, the question remains whether resveratrol and quercetin in red wine can be metabolized by the body and used by the brain. The study ultimately calls for more research.
The third review published in the May issue of Heart and Circulatory Physiology, suggests that resveratrol optimizes the performance of individual cells in the body. In an editorial, Gábor Szabó, a professor of cardiac surgery at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, echoes the Queensland study on many levels.
Szabó argues that all the research on resveratrol points to a compound that works in a way new to science. It cannot work only as an antioxidant, reducing oxidative damage to cells. The likely explanation is that the polyphenol improves the performance of organelles that function as powerhouses inside cells.
If this is true, the potential for resveratrol is seemingly limitless. However, the studies also raise critical questions about why it's helpful and how the body absorbs it.
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