The promise of evolving resveratrol science
He tells Shane Starling of the latest resveratrol research efforts and why, almost 20 years after it was first isolated in red wine, the nutrient is only now starting to benefit from the kind of human clinical trials that could catapult it to true nutrient stardom.
“I think that resveratrol research right now is a very exciting field because the research is starting to back up some of the hype,” Dr Pearson said. “In the next few years we are going to see a lot of clinical studies ... where we see whether or not resveratrol can improve health in humans.”
“Resveratrol was found to be in red wine in 1992 and since then there has been an explosion of publications dealing with resveratrol so the natural progression is to start in lower-level organisms and then move up the scale to where finally we have human research.”
That said, mice studies have demonstrated cardiovascular benefits, decreased cataracts, decreased osteoporosis and improved motor function, he said.
The science, testing and regulation surrounding antioxidants like resveratrol will be discussed at the upcoming NutraIngredients Antioxidants 2010 Conference. For more information and to register, please click here .
