Tag Archives: red wine

Red wine molecule causes a drop in blood pressure

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A new treatment for high blood pressure could be on the horizon after British Heart Foundation-funded scientists today revealed how a molecule found in red wine causes drops in blood pressure. The study, published in the journal Circulation, sheds light on how the compound could help scientists combat heart and circulatory diseases.

Resveratrol is a compound produced by the skins of certain fruits in self defence against insects, bacteria and fungi. It is best known for its presence in grapes and red wine. The compound has been touted as an elixir capable of combating several diseases including cancer, dementia and heart and circulatory diseases. However, despite exciting findings of benefits in cell and animal studies, so far scientists have been mostly unable to effectively translate these findings into treatments for human disease. In addition, the exact mechanisms behind resveratrol’s effects have not been understood.

Researchers from King’s College London gave mice with induced high blood pressure 320mg/kg of resveratrol in their diet for 15 days. The blood pressure of mice fed resveratrol in their diet dropped by around 20mmHg compared to mice fed a normal diet.

The researchers showed that resveratrol caused the blood vessels of the mice to relax, and blood pressure to drop, by oxidising a protein called PKG1a in the blood vessel wall. They then showed that resveratrol works in the same way in smooth muscle cells from human blood vessels.

According to the researchers, no current blood pressure lowering medications target this pathway and the findings could lead to the development of new drugs. The findings have also revealed that resveratrol, previously labelled an antioxidant, acts as an oxidant to lower blood pressure.

The team have suggested that the blood-pressure lowering effects of resveratrol might actually be amplified in people with heart and circulatory disease. In order to oxidise PKG1a, resveratrol has to be activated by free radicals first, which are found at higher concentrations in heart patients.

The findings do not mean the public should start drinking more red wine. For a human to consume the same doses of resveratrol used in the study, they would need to drink around 1,000 bottles of red wine a day. The researchers explain that such high doses of resveratrol were needed because in its current form resveratrol does not dissolve well and is broken down by the body before it can reach its target in the blood vessel wall.

Future drug developments may rely on altering the chemical structure of resveratrol to make it easier to dissolve and more resistant to breakdown, to ensure more of the compound reaches the target cells. Scientists may also develop entirely new drugs, which mimic the effects of resveratrol.

Dr Joseph Burgoyne, Senior Lecturer in Cardiovascular Sciences at King’s College London who led the study said:

“We’re slowly realising that oxidants aren’t always the villain. Our research shows that a molecule once deemed an antioxidant exerts its beneficial effects through oxidation. We think that many other so-called ‘antioxidants’ might also work in this way.

“Our work could lay the foundations for chemically altering resveratrol to improve its delivery to the body, or designing new, more potent drugs which use the same pathway. In the future, we could have a whole new class of blood pressure drugs.”

Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation said:

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the all clear to open a bottle of merlot. To get the human equivalent dose of resveratrol used here, you’d need to drink an impossible amount of red wine every day.

“This study reveals the surprising way in which resveratrol works and opens up the possibility of new blood pressure drugs which work in a similar way. The findings bring us a step closer to tackling this ‘silent killer’ which puts people at risk of having a devastating stroke or heart attack.
“Although you can buy resveratrol supplements, the best way to keep your blood pressure under control is through a healthy lifestyle, a balanced diet and taking any medicines prescribed by your doctor.”

Background facts:

There are around 14.4 million adults in the UK with high blood pressure, with an estimated 6-8 million who are undiagnosed or uncontrolled. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases including strokes and heart attacks.

It’s thought that significant numbers of people who are prescribed medications for high blood pressure do not take them.

During May Measurement Month, the BHF is encouraging the public to get to know their numbers. A normal blood pressure is less than 140/90mmHg. For more information, please visit our website.

To request interviews or for more information please contact the BHF press office by emailing newsdesk@bhf.org.uk or calling 020 7554 0164. (07764 290 381 – out of hours).

About the British Heart Foundation:

One in four of us in the UK and one in three globally die from heart and circulatory diseases. That’s why the British Heart Foundation funds world‐leading research into their causes, prevention, treatment and cure. Advances from our research have saved and improved millions of lives, but heart diseases, stroke, vascular dementia and their risk factors such as diabetes still cause heartbreak on every street. With the public’s support, our funding will drive the new discoveries to end that heartbreak. Find out more at bhf.org.uk

Red wine the elixir of youth?

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Boston: A substance in wine could prove to be an elixir of youth that holds back many of the effects of ageing, new research suggests.

Obese mice on high-calorie diets lived longer and had healthier hearts and livers when given the compound, resveratrol.

The molecule reversed gene activity patterns associated with diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions.

Dr David Sinclair, one of the US researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said: “The ‘healthspan’ benefits we saw in the obese mice treated with resveratrol, such as increased insulin sensitivity, decreased glucose levels, healthier heart and liver tissues, are positive clinical indicators and may mean we can stave off in humans age-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, but only time and more research will tell.”

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant produced by certain plants as a defence against the effects of injury and fungal infection.

It is commonly found in grape skins, peanuts and mulberries, and is especially plentiful in red wine.

Drinking red wine has been suggested as one explanation for the French Paradox – the fact that heart disease death rates are lower in France than in other industrialised countries with similar risk factors.

In 2003, researchers found that yeast treated with resveratrol lived 60 per cent longer than normal. Later experiments showed that the compound also extends the lifespans of worms and flies by almost 30 per cent, and fish by nearly 60 per cent.

The new findings, published in the journal Nature, are the first to show increased survival in mammals.

“Mice are much closer evolutionarily to humans than any previous model organism treated by this molecule, which offers hope that similar impacts might be seen in humans without negative side-effects,” said Dr Sinclair.

The scientists found that at 60 weeks of age, overfed mice given resveratrol began to survive three to four months longer than those not receiving the compound.

This trend continued, and at 114 weeks, which represents old age in mice, more than half the animals not treated with resveratrol died.

In contrast, at least two thirds of those in the resveratrol group continued to survive.

Overweight treated mice were generally healthier than overweight mice that were not treated.

Untreated mice had higher blood plasma levels of insulin, glucose and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), all markers that in humans predict the onset of diabetes.

At 18 months of age, the livers of high calorie, untreated mice were twice the size and weight of those given resveratrol. The treated mice had livers similar to those of animals on standard diets, and their livers were more normal at the cellular level.

Tests also showed that mice fed resveratrol were physically more co-ordinated and had better motor skills.

Dr Richard Hodes, director of the US National Institute on Ageing (NIA), which took part in the research, said: “There is currently intense interest in identifying interventions that can be applied to improve health and survival, especially as our society ages.

“Today’s basic science findings are a notable step in this effort.”

Dr Sinclair is a co-founder of Sirtris, a company which has developed a formulation of resveratrol now being used in an early clinical trial involving diabetes patients.

Live-longer Secrets from around the world

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These are the countries in which women have the longest lifespan, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Health Data 2005:

Japan 85.3
Spain 83.7
France 82.9
Australia 82.9
Iceland 82.5
Canada 82.1
Finland 81.8
New Zealand 81.1
UK 80.7
USA 79.9

Finland

Finland had the highest rate of deaths from heart disease in the world in the 1970s. It has now reversed that trend by combining a healthier diet and outdoor exercise. Half of women walk or cycle to work and the populace defy sub-zero temperatures to hike and ski.

France

Although the French diet is higher in dairy fat, they have less heart disease, are slimmer and live longer than most Europeans. Garlic and red wine are thought to be responsible for some of the lower levels of cardiovascular disease.

Japan

A combination of beneficial foods including fish, rice, soya and vegetables mean the Japanese have lower rates of heart disease than Europeans. Soya improves bone health and prevents hot flushes and is thought to fight cancer. Antioxidant vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, are also popular. The Japanese also drink green tea which is full of antioxidants

India

There is less Alzheimer’s amongst elderly people in India than in most Western countries.

Circumin, the active ingredient in tumeric a speice used in curry, has been linked to these lower levels of disease. Scientists at the University of California believe it may slow down the progression of the disease. They discovered that there were half the number of amayloid plaques – the protein thought to be implicated in Alzheimer’s – in people who consumed circumin. It has also been shown to stop the spread of some cancers.