14 DAY TRIAL // A new study carried out by researchers at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, concluded that resveratrol, a compound found in grapes, increases beneficial fat hormone besides its antioxidant and other positive properties.
The scientists explain that resveratrol stimulates the expression of adiponectin, a hormone derived from cells that create and store fat.
Senior author Feng Liu, PhD, professor of pharmacology and member of the Barshop Institute of Longevity and Aging Studies at the Health Science Center, said that adiponectin has a wide range of beneficial effects on obesity-related medical complications.
Both adiponectin and resveratrol have anti-obesity, anti-insulin resistance and anti-aging properties.
Previous research carried out by the Barshop Institute and collaborators, reported in July 2009 in Nature, concluded that the compound rapamycin extended life in mice.
Rapamycin is a compound that is under research for its beneficial health effects, just like resveratrol, and in 2010, Dr. Liu and colleagues announced that resveratrol inhibited the activity of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR).
This discovery was included in Faculty of 1000 (F1000), a prestigious service that identifies and evaluates the most important articles in biology and medical research publications.
The selection process for the F1000 is made by a peer-nominated global “faculty” of the world's top scientists and clinicians, who rate the best of the articles they read and explain their importance.
A reviewer said that this new “study would open up work in a new area: explaining how resveratrol and rapamycin synergistically achieve their results.”
Dr Liu said that the “results from these studies should be of interest to those who are obese, diabetic and growing older.
“The findings should also provide important information on the development of novel therapeutic drugs for the treatment of these diseases.”
The researchers confirmed the anti-obesity action of resveratrol and rapamycin in cells and animal models.
The study appeared in the January 7 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.