Red wine component to be studied against cancer LONDON (Reuters Health) - Scientists in Britain and the US announced plans on Tuesday to begin studying a possible new cancer prevention drug based on resveratrol, a natural compound found in red wine. Researchers at the University of Leicester in England and the University of Michigan will begin testing tablets of pure resveratrol in healthy volunteers early next year, the British university said in a statement. The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) is funding the research. Leicester's Professor Will Steward said resveratrol is found in peanuts and several berries, as well as grape skins and wine--particularly red wine. "Consumption of resveratrol has been proposed as one possible explanation for the low incidence of cardiovascular disease in Southern European countries with high red wine consumption, and resveratrol has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity in experimental models," he said. "Since resveratrol may be of value in preventing cancer, the NCI are funding early clinical studies of pure resveratrol capsules in healthy volunteers and patients with early cancer," Steward added. The 20 or so healthy volunteers in the study will initially be given one tablet containing 0.5 grams of resveratrol--equivalent to the amount in dozens and dozens of bottles of wine, Leicester researcher Professor Andreas Gescher told Reuters Health. Later trials will look at repeated doses. The point of these preliminary studies is to analyze how long the compound stays in the body and how much circulates in the blood. The researchers will also look for evidence of biochemical changes that might suggest a protective effect. "You obviously have to know that you're taking enough to get to the places that you want to prevent cancer," Gescher said. Several studies have found that wine drinkers seem to be less likely to develop cancer. Resveratrol has been suggested as one possible reason, but the benefits of wine may be due to a combination of reasons. "It is quite possible that after all this work we find resveratrol isn't active alone," Gescher said. "But first you have to look at what these single agents do and then you look at the next step." Source: Reuters News Publish Date: 11/06/2002 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.