Monday June 9, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Florida have found that daily intake of a small dose of a red wine ingredient known as resveratrol helps slow the aging process in the heart.

The effect was similar to that of caloric restriction.   It has been known that some animals such as fruit fly live longer if they eat fewer calories.

Previous studies have shown that high doses of resveratrol extend life in invertebrates and prevent early death in mice given a high-fat diet.   But it has been unknown whether a low dose would have an effect.

French people eat lots of greasy foods, but have low incidence of heart disease, the so called "French Paradox" has puzzled many people for decades. This study provided one explanation.

In the study, middle-aged mice since the age of 14 months had been fed either a control diet, a low dose of resveratrol or a calorie-restricted diet until the age of 30 months.   Genome-wide transcriptional profiles were examined.

The researchers found calorie restriction affect 90 percent of at least 1,029 genes in the heart whose functions change with age.   Similarly, low doses of resveratrol stopped the change in 92 percent of the age-related genes.   There is some overlap between the two groups.

Resveratrol is found in grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods.   It is now available in forms of supplements.

The study was published this past week in the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.

Source:

PLoS ONE. 2008 Jun 4;3(6):e2264.

A low dose of dietary resveratrol partially mimics caloric restriction and retards aging parameters in mice.

Barger JL, Kayo T, Vann JM, Arias EB, Wang J, Hacker TA, Wang Y, Raederstorff D, Morrow JD, Leeuwenburgh C, Allison DB, Saupe KW, Cartee GD, Weindruch R, Prolla TA.

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