Resveratrol improves aortic stiffness (in rhesus monkeys) | David Sinclair
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Over the past few decades, an abundance of scientific research has focused on resveratrol, a plant-based compound found in red grapes and peanuts. Much of this research has demonstrated that resveratrol exerts beneficial health effects – especially on the cardiovascular system – and has been shown to ameliorate the deleterious effects of an obesogenic diet (rich in saturated fat and sucrose) in monkeys. In particular, at high doses, resveratrol improved the monkeys' aortic stiffness by as much as 40 percent. In this clip, Dr. David Sinclair describes research demonstrating the beneficial effects of resveratrol on the cardiovascular system of monkeys.
Rhonda: You know, the resveratrol field, when I first was following it back in, I guess, the early 2000s, you know, I was very skeptical that there would be any effect in humans taking resveratrol because, certainly not from drinking a glass of wine. But from supplementing, just because it seemed as though, like, the doses required to get some really beneficial effects, at least in some of the rodent studies seemed sort of, you know, high and it didn't seem very attainable. But as you know, there was a really sort of compelling primate study in rhesus monkeys. I forgot when that was published. It was like mid-2000s, or 2011, or something like that.
David: Right. Rafa de Cabo's group with NIH.
Rhonda: Yes, that's right. They gave these rhesus monkeys resveratrol, and I think they started out with a lower dose, like 80 milligrams per kilogram and they went up to, like, 480. Any reason? Do you know why they start with... I've seen more than one study do that.
David: Yeah. So just anecdotally, what Rafa told me, I think, is that they started at the low dose and didn't see a change in pulse wave velocity in the blood vessels, so they upped it and then that's where they saw the benefit.
Rhonda: Oh, okay. Well, this study was... You know, the doses were very doable on humans when you, you know, convert and basically, you know, feeding these monkeys, they're feeding them, like, this terrible high sucrose diet, high sucrose and high fat, and they, like, it caused them to have, like, 40% increased aortic stiffness, but the resveratrol completely ameliorated it, like... So I was like, "Holy crap, that's pretty cool." I think that was the one study that sort of changed my view and then I started to sort of get into the literature and read ones that there was, you know, there's been a variety of clinical studies, as you know, and...
David: Yeah. Well, I'm glad somebody is reading the literature. Because there was a "hate me" club with resveratrol because it got so much attention. And anything that gets a lot of attention gets the "hate me" club in reverse.
A large class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels, including stroke, hypertension, thrombosis, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and more. Cardiovascular disease is often caused by lifestyle factors. As such, up to 90 percent of cardiovascular disease may be preventable.[1]
A polyphenolic compound produced in plants in response to injury or pathogenic attack from bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol exerts a diverse array of biological effects, including antitumor, antioxidant, antiviral, and hormonal activities. It activates sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), an enzyme that deacetylates proteins and contributes to cellular regulation (including autophagy). Dietary sources of resveratrol include grapes, blueberries, raspberries, and mulberries.
Resveratrol Autophagy ↑ Deacetylases (especially SIRT1) → ↓ Protein Acetylation → Autophagy
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