Healthy life is a boon in itself and it is awesome to have healthy body in the old age. Everybody always wish to look good and young and want to deceive the age and time. But “ Aging” is inevitable, which leaves a person with wrinkled skin, obesity, cardiovascular (Heart) diseases and weaker immune system. As a person grows older, he is bound to get all these with experiences of life and the bad news is that the process can not be stopped or reversed. “Can I look younger again” in this quest man has made several researches and concluded that “Aging can be slow down”. So you can age gracefully.

WOW…Not necessary to look wrinkled in forties...may be later.

Nutrition is the key to success. Good food along with anti-oxidants will do the trick.”Antioxidant” no one in this health concisions world is unaware of these miracle compounds and consumes these in form of fresh produce or supplements available. In the line of antioxidants a new compound “Resveratrol” have been discovered with amazing powers to slow down aging with anti-inflammatory, anti cancer and blood sugar lowering properties.

A Little Chemistry of “Resveratrol”:(pronounced “rez-veeri-tral”)

Resveratrol is phytoalexins or an antibiotic which is produced by plants as a result of defense mechanism. Plants, under the attack of fungi, injury and exposure to UV radiation, synthesize the antibiotic to fight the pathogen or the stress condition.

Broadly Resveratrols (3, 5, 4’-trihydroxystilbene) are polyphenols and particularly are stilbenes. Stilbene is a byproduct of heartwood formation in plants. Heartwood is a wood in plants that have become more resistant to decay as a result of deposition of chemical substances. So whatever reason resveratrol is formed in the plant is giving resistance from pathogens and saving the plant from the decay, therefore, sustains the healthy tissue.

That’s why; longevity and anti-aging properties of these compounds are fairly understood. It has also been reported that it inhibits the development of cancer and increases athletic performance.

Abnormal cancer cells, including malignant cells contain an enzyme system called CYP1B1. When this enzyme combines with resveratrol a toxin is produced. This toxin kills the abnormal or malignant cell.

Resveratrol is a fat soluble compound. It is found in two forms: cis and trans isomers. Trans configuration is found to be more stable under humid and hot conditions.

Where can it found in Nature?

Resveratrol is plant based compound, originally extracted from roots of white hellebore later from the roots of Japanese knotweed in mid of nineteen century. However it gained popularity in 1992 when another source of the compound was discovered “Grapes”.

It was discovered in wines made from grapes while studying the effect of wines on cardiovascular diseases. Later, the researches conducted on this compound gave astonishing results for longevity, fat burn, and increase in metabolism, enhanced athletic performance and inhibition of cancer cells. The results shown in various experiments are so amazing that it has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News and Oprah Winfrey’s show.

Mainly resveratrol is found in skin and seeds of grapes. There are various factors which determine the concentration of the compound the fruits like grape cultivar, its geographic origin, and how prone is the cultivar to fungal infection. Interestingly resveratrol found greatly in red wines than white wines.

The reason being that red wine is fermented with the skins, allowing the wine to absorb the resveratrol, whereas white wine is fermented after the skin has been removed. “Muscadine grapes” have also been noted with greater concentrations of resveratrol. Except Grapes, mulberry, cranberry, blueberry, peanuts and mulberry are the different sources of resveratrol.

In which form it is most effective in the human body:

About 70% of the resveratrol dose given orally as a pill is absorbed, nevertheless, bioavailability of resveratrol is low because it is rapidly metabolized in intestines and liver intoconjugated forms: glucuronate and sulfonate.

The most efficient way to absorb resveratrol in the human body is direct intake through the mouth lining without the swallowing.

In Grape fruits and grape juices the chemical is bounded with a molecule of glucose i.e. glucosides of resveratrol (piceid), thus, the effective trans-resveratrol are found in lower concentrations. Wines were seen effective while taken with the meal but the concentrations measured in the blood streams were too low to justify “French paradox”. Even the compound is found in the nature in form of plant antibiotic; hence it seems difficult to get the health benefits in the natural form with the limited quantities. Thanks to some pharmaceutical companies which has worked on the “Pharmacokinetics” of resveratrol and make this miracle compound available to human beings in appropriate quantities to consume.