If you've heard the old saying that wine is good for your health, or if you're actively researching longevity, you've probably heard of resveratrol .

This plant extract is found in more than 70 plant species and is likely to be found in your environment. Certain plants, such as grape skins, grape seeds, giant Japanese knotweed, cassia seeds, passion fruit, white tea, plums and peanuts, produce resveratrol naturally as a protective response to stress, infections or UV radiation [1].

The effects of resveratrol have kept scientists and nutritionists on tenterhooks. Research in the field has grown significantly over the past three decades, especially since the correlation was found in relation to heart health and cancer cells - as well as red wine. To put it in perspective, since the first mention of resveratrol in red wine in 1992, the body of literature, including clinical studies and controlled trials, has grown from a handful to over 13,000 scientific papers in the PubMed database.

As research progressed from plants to mice to humans, many people have looked to supplementing resveratrol to benefit from it. We've done our own research and gathered all the necessary facts and information about the "red wine molecule" and "anti-aging agent" for you.

1. What is resveratrol?

Resveratrol is known as a stilbenoid, a type of polyphenol, a group of compounds that act as antioxidants in the body.

They are mainly made up of natural components and can be called micronutrients. Essentially, these are microelements that are needed for survival. When people talk about the health benefits of a plant, they are usually talking about these polyphenols, such as the stilbenoids.

Another polyphenol is grape seed extract OPC .

The molecular mechanisms contributing to the special observed effects of resveratrol are complex and involve epigenetic regulations [4]. Epigenetics plays an important role in specifying the purpose of every cell in the human body.

The cells of the liver and brain are essentially the same, but perform different functions through epigenetic regulation. This means that not only can resveratrol help rid our bodies of harmful free radicals that could potentially cause cellular damage, but resveratrol supplements are increasingly being included in clinical trials as a dietary polyphenol to investigate its potential as "anti-aging" and "anti-obesity" for therapeutic use [5][6].

2. What is the difference between resveratrol and trans-resveratrol?

Resveratrol exists in two different forms - the cis and trans isomers. This means that they consist of the same parts but are arranged differently.

Trans-resveratrol is considered the more "bioactive" form and is what is commonly found in supplements today. The cis form is still technically bioactive and can serve as an antioxidant. However, the majority of research is done with the trans isomer of resveratrol, as many of the effects observed with trans-resveratrol do not occur with cis-resveratrol.

3. What are the benefits of trans-resveratrol?

Trans-resveratrol has been studied for its use in combating various diseases.

Its health benefits are often believed to be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory roles in the body.

Resveratrol is thought to have the potential to lower blood pressure. Resveratrol may help the body produce a substance called nitric oxide, which is known to relax blood vessels [10]. Resveratrol has been successfully studied in rats for this purpose [11], and in 2017, a clinical trial of resveratrol in patients with hypertension showed its effectiveness in lowering blood pressure [12].

High levels of fat in the blood can be a dangerous warning sign of impending cardiovascular disease. A randomized controlled trial examined the effect of resveratrol on LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) in patients with cardiovascular disease. The researchers found that patients who took resveratrol in addition to their blood lipid-lowering medication had better cardiac outcomes than patients who took the drug alone.

Resveratrol's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects are thought to play a role in its brain-protective effects. The development of Alzheimer's disease involves plaque buildup in the brain. Resveratrol is thought to help prevent this plaque buildup and thus may be a preventative measure against the disease. More human research is needed to confirm its effects, but current research is promising.

In addition, it has been observed to act as an antioxidant to prevent oxidative stress, regulate digestive problems, help with weight management problems, fatty liver disease and also diabetes [5][6][7]. Research on these topics is preliminary, but these early results are promising and lead to further investigation of resveratrol for human health.

Taking resveratrol is safe because the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has classified the substance as safe.

4. Which foods contain trans-resveratrol?

Back in the 1990s, researchers in France noticed a strange health trend. They found that despite consuming a diet high in saturated fat, the French very rarely suffered from heart disease. They also found that another important factor in their diet was red wine - this led researchers to believe that the wine had a protective effect on their heart health.

This is known as the "French paradox".

In fact, wine as an alcoholic beverage is made from grapes that contain trans-resveratrol.

Resveratrol has a protective effect on the plants in which it is found. That is why it can be found in the outer layer of the seeds of grapes and peanuts. Grapes do not need to be fermented and made into wine to achieve high resveratrol content. Red grapes and grape juice are also sources of the polyphenol.

The same goes for other fruits, berries and nuts, including giant Japanese knotweed, cassia seeds, passion fruit, white tea, plums, cranberries, blueberries and pistachios. Resveratrol can also be found in cocoa powder and even dark chocolate [1].

Resveratrol has been extensively studied for a variety of health benefits and may be responsible for the side effects of red wine observed in the 1990s. Today, red wine consumption, with all its culinary benefits and side effects, is still accepted as part of moderate consumption. While one alcoholic drink a day is probably not harmful to your health, it is not clear whether it actually improves your health.

The content in wine is about 2.5 mg per glass, while most studies use resveratrol in amounts of over 500 mg to 1000 mg at a time.

5. How do I get the best bioavailability/dosage?

One of the biggest limitations of resveratrol is its poor bioavailability. All of its health effects are irrelevant if the body can't actually utilize it!

The exact dosage for healthy individuals is not yet confirmed, but a dose of 150-455 milligrams has been shown to be safe in human studies [2]. However, the poor bioavailability of resveratrol capsules and foods makes it difficult for consumers to use a consistent dosage, while too much resveratrol can have negative effects.

When taken in extremely high doses of 2.5 grams or more, it can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly even liver dysfunction [3]. Now, when only 10% of the micronutrient is absorbed, it becomes really difficult to control the dosage.

Therefore, taking resveratrol from conventional supplements in the form of capsules or powder is a cause for concern. After ingestion, it is not well absorbed in the intestines, and what is absorbed is quickly excreted. Some people therefore take an overdose of resveratrol powder during treatment to compensate for the low bioavailability. We strongly advise against this.

A good option to naturally overcome these limitations are liposomes. In particular, recent scientific findings have suggested the use of liposomal formulations to increase the bioavailability of trans-resveratrol [7].

They can sequester the resveratrol in the gut so less is rejected and more can be absorbed into the cell. Once absorbed, it can help transport the resveratrol to our cells where it is needed most, rather than being quickly broken down and excreted from the body.

6. The best resveratrol supplements

The majority of resveratrol supplements come in the form of resveratrol capsules or tablets.

As already mentioned, we advise against these powders (in shells or pressed) because your intestines can hardly absorb the active ingredients this way. The powder must first pass through the digestive system and then be absorbed by the cells of the small intestine in order to enter the bloodstream.

This is where trans-resveratrol is supposed to take effect.

But the cells of the small intestine are not an open door that lets anyone in. Rather, they are like an exclusive club with a picky bouncer who only lets a certain number of people through. As soon as the club is full, everyone else has to go home. In other words, the intestines have preferences and can only absorb so much of certain nutrients.

Unfortunately, this picky bouncer is not a fan of plant extracts, which means that they are consistently poorly absorbed in the small intestine. For this reason, low bioavailability is a real problem in the diet and absorption of micronutrients such as resveratrol.

The best resveratrol supplements are therefore those that can provide better bioavailability and better dosage control.

This is achieved by liposomes, polymeric and lipid nanoparticles, microemulsions and cyclodextrins [7].

Resveratrol is generally poorly absorbed. However, the extract can be encapsulated in lipid spheres - liposomes, which are loved by the small intestine. We call this our "Trojan horse".

The liposome passes through the digestive tract and is preferentially absorbed in the small intestine due to its physical structure. Once the liposome is absorbed, the resveratrol is released into your bloodstream.

ActiNovo 's Resveratrol contains 100 mg of natural resveratrol per 10 ml daily dose . These 100 mg are equivalent to 50 glasses of red wine that you would have to drink per day to absorb the same amount.

Liposomal Resveratrol

Resveratrol, also known as "red wine essence", is a well-known active ingredient with numerous health-promoting properties and is also a natural component of red wine.

The resveratrol used by ActiNovo comes from the root of the Japanese knotweed. This contains the stable and bioactive trans form that also occurs in plants. This allows us to live up to our claim of providing our customers with the best possible quality.

ActiNovo’s liquid product contains 100 mg of natural resveratrol per 10 ml daily dose.

7. Conclusion

Resveratrol is a safe and well-known dietary supplement. Its antioxidant properties make it a promising molecule that offers health benefits in a variety of diseases. In addition, liposomes are an effective way to ingest this substance and get the most out of its benefits.

More research with greater bioavailability in humans is needed to confirm more health effects, but fortunately positive results in animal and human studies have led to an increase in funding and studies on the subject. While wine itself may not be the answer to the world's health problems, its existence has led to important studies on its active molecule, resveratrol.

As always, when starting a new supplement, you should talk to your doctor first to make sure there are no potential negative interactions with other medications or medical conditions.

Sources

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[4] Epigenetic Mechanisms of Resveratrol and Its Analogs in Cancer Prevention and Treatment Avinash Kumar, Anait S. Levenson, in Science Direct, 2019 Epigenetics of Cancer Prevention
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