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A1CR
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Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 559
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 Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:00 am Post subject: Is Resveratrol + CR counter-productive? |
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RD has came upon an article (2004-08-06) which may be considered a a wake-up call for CRONies supplementing with resveratrol. In it, one of the scientist involves says that in isolation, either CR or resveratrol extended fly lifespan. But when flies were subject to CR AND given resveratrol, they didn't live any longer than control flies. Could it be a case of too much of a good thing? Or could it be that CR and resveratrol increase longevity by different mechanisms, and each interferes with the other? Or maybe this result was just a fluke. Or maybe the scientist was misquoted. Who knows... More information is clearly needed. But one thing is certain, this points out the potential dangers for CR practitioners of jumping on the latest life extension supplement.
The PR certainly works overtime. Question: will reality live up to the hype, or
will resveratrol join the long ranks of promised miracles that failed to be
realized?
http://www.scienceblog.com/community/article3524.html
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"From Brown University:
Researchers discover the first compounds that slow aging across species
Three colleagues with a common interest in the biology of aging have
determined that the compound resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine,
can slow the aging process in yeast, fruit flies and nematodes. The three --
David Sinclair of Harvard, Marc Tatar of Brown, and Stephen Helfand of the
University of Connecticut -- report their findings in the July 15, 2004,
issue of Nature.
Last July, during a day trip to Boston, Brown biologist Marc Tatar popped
into the lab of David Sinclair, a friend and pathology researcher at Harvard
Medical School.
Tatar and Sinclair share a fundamental fascination: how and why living
organisms age. Tatar experiments with fruit flies. Sinclair works with yeast
-- and he wanted to share an interesting find. Sinclair put a teaspoonful of
clear liquid in a vial and placed it in a box of ice. He handed the box to
Tatar and said, ''We think it's safe. Try it out.''
Tatar, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology, was intrigued. Back at Brown, he cooked the compound into a sweet
corn meal mush, fed his flies and waited. He was amazed. The flies lived
longer -- some nearly 30 percent longer -- than the average Drosophila
melanogaster.
This discovery prompted an unusual, three-university experiment that has
netted a true scientific breakthrough: the discovery of the first compounds
that slow aging across species. The results are published in the July 15,
2004, issue of Nature.
''To work across species, the mechanism behind how these compounds function
must be very, very old -- predating the evolution of yeast,'' Tatar said.
''It's amazing stuff.''
The compound Sinclair gave Tatar was resveratrol, an antioxidant found in
red wine. To put resveratrol to a more rigorous, far-reaching test, Tatar
and Sinclair enlisted Stephen Helfand, a researcher at the University of
Connecticut.
The trio tested resveratrol along with fisetin, a close cousin in its
plant-based family. They fed the compounds to yeast, worms and flies.
Results showed that molecules called sirtuins slowed aging in all organisms.
Flies, for example, live an average of 43 days. But flies that ate
resveratrol lived up to 51 days. Flies that ate fisetin lived as long as 53
days.
Why? Sirtuins mimic the life-extending effects of caloric restriction, a
biochemical cascade known to slow aging in mammals. Scientists don't fully
understand why caloric restriction prolongs life. Tatar said the best
thinking is this: Living creatures are hard-wired to reproduce. But a
severe, low-calorie diet trips physiological sensors, sending a message
throughout the body that conditions aren't ripe for reproduction. Cellular
defense systems go up and aging slows, preserving the body for better, more
reproduction-friendly times.
''In this case, a little stress is actually beneficial,'' Tatar explained.
''It's evolution.''
What was startling about the experiment is that sirtuins don't extend life
when coupled with real caloric restriction. In fact, when flies on a
low-calorie diet ate resveratrol and fisetin, they didn't live any longer
than average flies. Another surprising discovery was the fact that flies
feasting on sirtuins didn't have problems reproducing -- a negative side
effect of caloric restriction.
One practical application of the research is in prescription drug
development. But Tatar said a ''Ponce de Leon pill'' won't be found in
pharmacies any time soon. Because sirtuins dissipate quickly in the blood,
Tatar predicted that it would take scientists at least five years to create
compounds stable enough for use in drugs.
Consumers shouldn't expect a silver-bullet centenarian pill. ''We'd probably
see these compounds used in drugs that target a specific age-related
disease, such as diabetes or heart failure,'' he said. ''If those diseases
are delayed, we'd live longer.''
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