A common dietary supplement and an ingredient of red wine, resveratrol has been found in new research to suppress the abnormal cell formation that leads to most types of breast cancer. This suggests a potential role for the agent in breast cancer prevention.
As you know from reading this site, resveratrol is a natural substance found in red wine and red grapes. It is sold in extract form as a dietary supplement at many stores and internet shops. Unfortunately, some brands of resveratrol do not have the listed ingredient as promised on the bottle (as an example, one report found that Life Extension brand had only a fraction of its promised resveratrol).
“Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer by blocking the formation of the estrogen DNA adducts. We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road,” said Eleanor G. Rogan, Ph.D., a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Rogan was the lead author of this report, published in the July 2008 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Rogan and colleagues measured the effect of resveratrol on cellular functions known to contribute to breast cancer.
Scientists know that many breast cancers are fueled by increased estrogen, which collects and reacts with DNA molecules to form what are called "adducts." Rogan and colleagues found that resveratrol was able to suppress the formation of these DNA adducts.
The work was done with fairly low concentrations of resveratrol to stop the formation of these DNA adducts. Although researchers experimented with up to 100 µmol/L of resveratrol, the suppression of DNA adducts was seen with 10 µmol/L. A glass of red wine contains between 9 and 28 µmol/L of resveratrol.
The current study was conducted in laboratory cultures, and will need to be confirmed in larger human trials.
Dave
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Awesome post! Have you had a chance to watch 60 Minutes, Fox News, Oprah or Barbra Walters segments last weekend about it?
Basically, it shows promise in mice. For mice, has shown major health improvements including blood sugar control. Keep in mind that 6 out of 10 major drug successes in mice - fail in humans. But the limited human trials showed promise and there are some patients that claim it helps. However, this could be the 'placebo effect,' and only empirical data under controlled experiments can tell for sure. It will take a few years for these clinical trials to conclude.
You can get supplements of the extract right now. While it is safe, it is not guaranteed to work. I did some research and learned the following: You can only get 1-2mgs of it in a single bottle of wine. So, white, it's a good excuse to drink wine, but you really won't get much benefit. There are resveratrol supplements on the market - but many do not have the required strength and they don't work for everyone. The only way to know for sure is to try the supplements. Hope you find this interesting... its a future hope for the fountain of youth and treatments (not cures) for countless diseases.
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