Red wine resveratrol, not alcohol, for benefit

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

The below is first a media account of the story and then the abstract and

Medline

number for the not pdf-available paper suggesting that the health benefits of

red

wine for heart disease are due to its resveratrol, not its alcohol, for heart

health

benefits.

A difficulty may be the use in the study of rabbits as an animal model. It has

cautioned that the use of rabbits for such studies, as I recall.

No More Cholesterol Pills? Study Shows Red Wine Molecule Prevents Plaque From

Forming In Arteries Regardless of Cholesterol Count

For over a decade researchers have debated whether red wine produces health

benefits

because of its alcohol content, or because of other molecules in red wine. Now

researchers at Nanjing Medical University in China report on the use of

de-alcoholized red wine and cardiovascular health. Animals were fed alcohol,

red

wine, de-alcoholized red wine and pure research-grade resveratrol, a molecule

found

in red wine. Animals were then fed a high cholesterol diet and the human

equivalent

of 210 milligrams of resveratrol, or 280 millilters of red wine or alcohol-free

red

wine.

The results of the study are surprising. After 12 weeks the animals actually

experienced a rise in circulating levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol,

and

" good " HDL cholesterol regardless of whether they were fed alcohol, red wine,

alcohol-free red wine or resveratrol.

However, while cholesterol plaque formed in the arteries (thoracic aorta) of the

cholesterol-fed animals, the size, density, and mean area of atherosclerotic

plaques

were significantly reduced in rabbits given de-alcoholized red wine, red wine,

or

resveratrol. Resveratrol prevents cholesterol plaque from forming within artery

wall regardless of whether circulating levels of cholesterol are high or low!

Here is the abstract of the study, for your review:

International Journal Molecular Medicine 16:533-540, 2005

Dealcoholized red wine containing known amounts of resveratrol suppresses

atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits without affecting plasma lipid

levels.

Wang Z, Zou J, Cao K, Hsieh TC, Huang Y, Wu JM.

Moderate consumption of red wine is associated with a reduced risk of

coronary

heart disease (CHD). This phenomenon is based on data from epidemiological

observations known as the French paradox, and has been attributed to

CHD-protective

phytochemicals, e.g., resveratrol in red wine. Since red wine also contains

alcohol,

it is conceivable that alcohol interacts with resveratrol to elicit the observed

cardioprotective effects.

To determine whether resveratrol has alcohol-independent affects, we compared

cardioprotective properties of dealcoholized Chinese red wine with

alcohol-containing Chinese red wine having comparable amounts of resveratrol,

using

a hypercholesterolemic rabbit model and resveratrol as a reference. Animals fed

a

high cholesterol (1.5%) diet were simultaneously given water containing

resveratrol

(3 mg/kg/day) or red wine (4 ml/kg/day) containing 3.98 mg/l and 3.23 mg/l

resveratrol for regular and dealcoholized red wine, respectively, for a 12-week

duration. Total, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the plasma

were

measured before and after the cholesterol challenge. Atherosclerotic plaques in

the

thoracic aorta were evaluated using histochemical methods. Vascular and

endothelial

functions in the femoral artery were also assessed by ultrasonographic image

analysis.

High cholesterol-fed animals showed a significant increase in plasma levels

of

total, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, but not triglycerides, compared to those fed a

regular diet. Dietary cholesterol-elicited lipid changes were similarly observed

in

animals concurrently fed dealcoholized red wine, red wine or resveratrol. In

contrast, whereas atherosclerotic lesions were clearly evident in specimens

prepared

from the thoracic aorta of high cholesterol-fed animals, the size, density, and

mean

area of atherosclerotic plaques, and thickness of the intima layer were

significantly reduced in rabbits given dealcoholized red wine, red wine, or

resveratrol.

These results were in agreement with data obtained by an ultrasound analysis

of

endothelial function, which showed a 25% reduction in flow-mediated dilation

(FMD)

in rabbits fed a high cholesterol diet compared to animals on control diet. This

decrease was effectively prevented by the simultaneous exposure to dealcoholized

red

wine, red wine, or resveratrol. Our study shows that animals given dealcoholized

red

wine exhibited cardio-active effects comparable to those of animals orally

administered resveratrol, and suggests that wine polyphenolics, rather than

alcohol

present in red wine, suffice in exerting cardioprotective properties. The

results

also provide support for the notion that resveratrol and phytochemicals in red

wine

can suppress atherosclerosis without affecting plasma lipid levels.

PMID: 16142383

Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

__________________________________________________