What is in this article?:
- NIH resveratrol study raises varied concerns among experts
- Where does resveratrol research go from here?
A new study by the National Institutes of Health sheds light on the action of resveratrol in cells. One resveratrol supplier has hailed the results, while another believes it promotes a pharmaceutical application, as opposed to a dietary supplement.
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Researchers with the National Institutes of Health say they have identified a possible method of action for resveratrol. The study used mice to show that resveratrol affects the activity of sirtuin 1, a protein associated with aging, via an indirect as opposed to a direct pathway.
“This is good news. Despite well-documented health benefits of resveratrol, the mechanism of action has been elusive,” said Michael I. McBurney, PhD, head of scientific affairs for DSM Nutritional Products. DSM markets a nature-identical form of resveratrol under the ResVida brand.
Several previous studies suggested that resveratrol's primary target is sirtuin 1. The lead author of the study, Jay H. Chung, MD, PhD, and his colleagues suspected otherwise when they found that resveratrol activity required another protein called AMPK. This would not be the case if resveratrol directly interacted with sirtuin 1. The study found that resveratrol inhibits certain types of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that help regulate cell energy.
“It has been hypothesized that the health benefits of resveratrol are modulated through energy-sensing pathways involving the sirtuin family of proteins, but the mechanism of action was unknown. These findings from the NIH are intriguing because they provide insight,” McBurney said.
While the NIH study is promising, it won’t affect the messaging surrounding ResVida in the short term.
“In nutrition, understanding mechanisms of action is of paramount importance. However, DSM bases its resVida claims on clinical studies in humans,” McBurney said.
This study comes on the heels of other recent research on resveratrol’s effects. A study in 2011 published in Cell Metabolism showed that 150mg daily of resveratrol lowered subjects’ resting metabolism, mimicking the effect of a calorie-restricted diet.
