Resveratrol:

10 heavyweights for weight management #8
By Bill Sardi June 22, 2010

Resveratrol: If humans could only reduce their intake of calories, down to eating about one meal a day (about 1,500 calories), they would achieve a health and longevity enjoyed by only a very few. Aside from the senior adult population on the island of Okinawa, there is no large human population that practices what has become known as calorie restriction.

But there now may be an option to what many might perceive as a regimen of deprivation. In recent years researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School have come upon a remarkable molecule that mimics calorie restriction. Resveratrol, available in 70 species of plants, but more widely known as a red wine molecule, mimics calorie restriction. That is, it switches on the same gene that calorie restriction activates — Sirtuin 1, a DNA repair gene.

Of great interest is an enzyme called fatty acid synthase. It is the key enzyme involved in the conversion of dietary carbohydrates (sugars and starches) to fat in mammals.27 Resveratrol is a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthase.28

Resveratrol is available for dietary supplements, without the calories or alcohol included in wine. Studies indicate resveratrol in wine and animal studies has always been utilized in its trans-resveratrol form. Exposure to light, heat or oxygen may alter its molecular structure into cis-resveratrol, which does not activate the Sirtuin 1 gene.29

Resveratrol opens a new door in the metabolic battle. It could allow humans to 'eat their cake' and not pay the price of diabetes and obesity.30 Resveratrol seems to essentially mimic calorie restriction. It would produce many of the same effects as dieting without having to deprive oneself of food.31 The effect of resveratrol in limiting the production of fat in fat cells is greatly synergized by the addition of quercetin. The ability of fat cells to produce fat is inhibited by 15-18 per cent by resveratrol or quercetin alone, but when combined, this inhibitory effect climbs to 73 per cent, nearly a five-fold difference.32

References
27. Lin J, et al. Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate inhibits adipogenesis and induces apoptosis in 3T30L1 adipocytes. Obes Res 2005;982-90.
28. Wolfram S, et al. Anti-obesity effects of green tea: from bedside to bench. Molecular Nutr Food Res 2006;50:176-87. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16470636

29. Srichairatanakool S, et al. Iron-chelating and free-radical scavenging activities of microwave-processed green tea in iron overload. Hemoglobin 2006;30:311-27. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16798656

30. Menendez JA, et al. Obesity, fatty acid synthase, and cancer: serendipity or forgotten causal linkage? Molecular Genetics Metab 2005;84:293-5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15694180
31. Tian WX. Inhibition of fatty acid synthase by polyphenols. Curr Med Chem 2006;967-77.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16611078
32. Wang Z, et al. Dealcoholized red wine containing known amounts of resveratrol suppresses atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits without affecting plasma lipid levels. Int J Molec Med 2005;165:533-40.

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