An antioxidant found in red wine could treat life-threatening inflammations like appendicitis, a new study claims.
Recently published studies by scientists at the University of Glasgow indicate how resveratrol could work as effective therapy for dangerous inflammations such as appendicitis, peritonitis and systemic sepsis.
Findings from the university's infection and immunology division, along with collaborators in Singapore, indicate that resveratrol could be used to treat such deadly inflammatory diseases, and may also lead to new resveratrol-based drugs.
In the study, researchers administered an inflammatory agent to two groups of mice, one of which was pretreated with resveratrol and the other not.
The mice that were not pretreated with resveratrol experienced a strong inflammatory response, while the group pretreated with resveratrol was protected from the inflammation.
The scientists found that resveratrol stopped inflammation in the mice by preventing the body from creating two different molecules known to trigger inflammation.
'The therapeutic potential of red wine has been bottled up for thousands of years,' said Gerald Weissmann MD, editor-in-chief of the journal of the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology, which published the research.
'Now that scientists have uncorked its secrets, they find that studies of how resveratrol works can lead to new treatments for life-threatening inflammation.'
Some strongly question the impact of resveratrol in wine, however.
'The whole resveratrol-wine-health relationship is totally incorrect,' said Dr. Roger Corder, professor at the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Corder, also the author of The Wine Diet, which highlights wine's cardiovascular benefits, told decanter.com that 'many wines, particularly from thick-skinned grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, have virtually no resveratrol.'
'Based on the lack of evidence that resveratrol in the amounts found in wine has any actions in experimental studies, it is not credible to ascribe the health benefits of wine consumption to resveratrol,' he explained.
'Wine consumers are being misled by reports that suggest resveratrol is relevant,' he added. 'Just because various new agencies swallow this rubbish and regurgitate it without any sense of critical appraisal of the realities does not mean it is correct.'
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Debating the therapeutic qualities or lack thereof in wine misses the point completely. Wine tastes good and enough of it makes you feel good. It's ability to prolong or shorten our lives is a crass justification to consume what is essentially a product that enhances the joy of life. This new-agey molestation of wine into a rogues gallery of constituent molecules that will cure everything from the common cold to bubonic plague stinks of snake oil.
Toby Bensimon, Australia
I support Prof David Sinclair's research at the Anti-aging Laboratory at the Harvard School of Medicine and his conclusion that resveratrol not only acts as an anti-oxidant but also stimulates SIRT1 which helps all species, including us, live longer.A recent 40 year Dutch study has shown that wine drinkers live on average 5 years longer than non-drinkers.As a consequence I have developed in Australia a Resveratrol Enhanced Wine, under "The Wine Doctor" label, with 100 mg/l of resveratrol compared to the usual 1 mg/l in white wine and 3-6 mg/l in red wine; using my patented process, to make wine even healthier.
Dr Philip Norrie, Australia
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