Resveratrol reduces cardiovascular risk in smokers
Resveratrol: helps smokers have less heart risk
Supplementation with resveratrol may exert benèficial effects on the cardiovascular system of smokers by limiting oxidative stress and inflammatory status. In fact, the natural compound appears to increase total antioxidant capacity, reduce triglyceride concentration, and lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a molecule that increases during inflammation.
This is what researchers from the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Turin discovered. The study, published in Current Medicinal Chemistry, represents a real breakthrough being the first to investigate the effects of resveratrol in smokers
Resveratrol: a natural molecule with many virtues
Resveratrol is a phenolic compound produced by several plant species; for example, it is present in the skin of grape berries This compound possesses anti-inflammatory and vasorelaxant activities. It inhibits platelet aggregation, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, and increases good cholesterol (HDL), thus reducing the risk of myocardial and atherosclerotic diseases.Resveratrol also counteracts free radical-induced damage. As recent data show, due to this antioxidant and antimutagenic activity, it also appears to have a chemoprotective action, inhibiting the development of tumors. Such knowledge suggested that the phenolic compound could counteract the effects of cigarette smoking. Indeed, in smokers there is an increase in the oxidative and inflammatory state.
Positive effects of supplementation
The study was conducted on 50 subjects between 20 and 50 years of age, smokers of at least 5 cigarettes per day at the time of the trial, and with a history of at least 20 packs of cigarettes consumed per year. None of them had cardiovascular disease, hypertension, or renal dysfunction, nor were they following medical therapies or supplementation During the trial, half of the subjects received a 500-mg resveratrol supplement for 30 days, followed by 30 days of discontinuation and a subsequent month in which they received a placebo The other 25 study participants, in contrast, took the placebo for the first period, followed by the 30 days of discontinuation and then the final 30 of resveratrol supplementation. For each, blood concentrations of markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were analyzed. The results showed that. C-reactive protein, a molecule produced by the liver in response to inflammation, decreased by 50 percent after one month of resveratrol supplementation, compared with the month with placebo. This was 26 percent higher than that found in a previous study, in which the effect of supplementation with 8 mg of resveratrol, over one year, was analyzed. In addition, after supplementation, the concentration of triglycerides in the blood decreased by 70 percent, while it increased by 74.2 μmol/L the set of molecules with antioxidant action (total antioxidant status).
Resveratrol Reduces inflammatory and oxidative molecules
Based on these results, the researchers hypothesized that resveratrol might have a dose-dependent ability to decrease the level of cytokines that stimulate CRP release from the liver. It could also reduce oxidative stress by counteracting the effect of free radicals in respiratory tract cells. Regarding the action on triglycerides, it is possible that resveratrol may mobilize fat deposits from peripheral tissues so that they can be metabolized by muscles. The study showed no effect of supplementation on body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and other metabolic variables All these suggest how resveratrol intake may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in healthy smokers. Further studies will be conducted to relate the positive effects of the substance in smokers affected by chronic inflammation, such as obstructive lung disease.
Source: S. Bo, G. Ciccone, A. Castiglione, R. Gambino, F. De Michieli, P. Villois, M. Durazzo, P. Cavallo-Perin and M. Cassader "Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Effects of Resveratrol in Healthy Smokers A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Trial" Current Medicinal Chemistry, Vol 20. Iss10, pp 1323-1331 (9)
