Resveratrol – Scientists Move to Harness Red Wine Compound’s Power

I’ll be attending the Wine Enthusiast “Toast of the Town” tasting later today and will have a full report posted by tomorrow. In the meantime I want to write a quick post about a compound found in red wine that is frequently mentioned as its health benefits have been cited in multiple studies.

Resveratrol is the antioxidant compound found in the skins & seeds of grapes. Since red wine is made by extracting color and flavors from the skins (and generally has the seeds in place during fermentation) Resveratrol is found (in low levels) in red wine.

I bring this up today simply as Wine Spectator online has an article in its Wine & Health section that cites two studies taking place where researchers are examining the benefits of harnessing Resveratrol & using it to treat cells associated with diseases. The article can be found here.

It should be noted however that studies surrounding Resveratrol in red wine have shown that one needs to consume a massive amount of red wine to realize the benefits Resveratrol has to offer. And while many still believe that regularly drinking (moderate amounts) of red wine is healthy, they are unsure if one reaps any of the health benefits Resveratrol has to offer from normal wine consumption. That said there is extensive research being done to find ways to administer Resveratrol in methods other than red wine consumption and the article mentions an R & D company researching Resveratrol that was recently purchased for $172M…so there must be something to this…

Happy HEALTHY COMPOUND wine tasting…& Happy Monday!

WTG

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