June 30, 2010 1:35 PM

Resveratrol, Found in Wine, Blueberries, May Prevent Blindness, Study Says

By
Aina Hunter
Topics
(Credit: AP)

(CBS) And yet another reason to have a glass of red with dinner - or perhaps, in this hot weather, an icy glass of sangria.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that resveratrol - a compound found in the skin of red grapes and blueberries - may prove useful in preventing the vision loss associated with diabetes and old age.

The study, conducted on mice, showed that resveratrol helps block the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye, such as that associated with macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.

Researchers say resveratrol could also prove useful in treating two other eye disorders: diabetic retinopathy, which causes vision loss in about 20 percent of people with diabetes, and retinopathy of prematurity, a condition that strikes some babies born prematurely.

Using resveratrol pills to treat humans remains a distant goal, but the study's lead author is hopeful.

"This could potentially be a preventive therapy in high-risk patients," Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, said in a prepared statement. He said it might help prevent vision loss even after the abnormal growth of blood vessels in the retina had begun.

Just don't try putting resveratrol to work on your own. To get the same dose given in the study, Apte says, you'd have to drink several bottles of wine.


Add a Comment
by duplinwinery July 2, 2010 1:18 PM EDT
I would urge you to discover what we have been doing at Duplin Winery for nearly four decades. The quantities of resveratrol and other compounds that are found in Muscadine grapes are found in their HIGHEST concentrations. Taking the skins and seeds and concentrating them into a daily supplement provides beneficial levels of this healthy fruit. Eating fruit alone, drinking wine, certainly would take extreme and unsafe quantities - but providing a supplement that is 100% pure 100% natural and hosts all of the goodness found in the native Muscadine grape --- that's the power of the Muscadine!!
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by jamesinraro July 2, 2010 6:11 AM EDT
It is not possible to obtain a theraputic dose of resveratrol from any plant source directly. The concentrations are far too low. One would need to consume many kilos to match the amounts used in these studies. The actual source of resveratrol in most of the clinical studies and animal studies is a concentrated form called biotivia transmax. You can see this if you read the entire text of these studies.
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by duplinwinery July 2, 2010 1:21 PM EDT
I would urge you to discover what we have been doing at Duplin Winery for nearly four decades. The quantities of resveratrol and other compounds that are found in Muscadine grapes are found in their HIGHEST concentrations. Taking the skins and seeds and concentrating them into a daily supplement provides beneficial levels of this healthy fruit. Eating fruit alone, drinking wine, certainly would take extreme and unsafe quantities - but providing a supplement that is 100% pure 100% natural and hosts all of the goodness found in the native Muscadine grape --- that's the power of the Muscadine!!
by jamesinraro July 2, 2010 1:39 PM EDT
Yes, I understand and I commend you for your valuable work at Duplin Winery. I am James at Biotivia by the way. My only point was that for clinical use such as in the human clinical trial just released by Albert Einstein which showed a large in insulin sensitivity in subjects given 2g per day in the form of our transmax supplement, it is necessary to use a supplement. For preventative applications a much smaller dose such as you are producing is effective. Also, the other polyphenols in your concentrate are very beneficial apart from the effects of the resveratrol.
by duplinwinery July 1, 2010 11:42 AM EDT
There is much information regarding resveratrol and its health benefits, as well as other phytocompounds found in grapes and other fruits. There is ONE fruit that trumps all others out there - the MUSCADINE. Native to North Carolina, the Muscadine grape has the highest levels of resveratrol when compared with any other element in nature. Duplin Winery is the largest Muscadine winery and hosts over 100,000 people at their North Carolina facility each year. NutraGrape, the winery's sister company, takes the seeds and excess skins, and has been creating a 100% pure and natural Muscadine supplement for over 14 years. NutraGrape's daily supplements pack in the power of resveratrol and other phytocompounds found exclusively and at the highest levels in Muscadines. A medical journal study was released yesterday actually stating that Muscadine resveratrol is more powerful than any other form of resveratrol and packs a punch against prostate cancer. Duplin Winery has seen its sales soar over the last several years. Duplin Winery and NutraGrape have been talking about resveratrol for over 20 years - and that is long before it became a household word or even a newsworthy topic. Duplin Winery, NutraGrape, The Power of Muscadines!
Reply to this comment
by scubbasteve01 June 30, 2010 11:52 PM EDT
It sounds like a real lifesaver. Because going blind is a nightmare.
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