Your Brain on Resveratrol

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Apr 29, 2010, 08:59 ET

VIENNA, April 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Can Resveratrol, the so-called miracle molecule found in red wine, peanuts and an obnoxious plant called Chinese Giant Knotweed, actually improve your brain function?

Scientists at Northumbria University in the UK have just published a double-blind, peer-reviewed study in the journal, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which concludes that a relatively modest dose of this compound in the form of one or two capsules may just do that. In their study, 24 subjects were given one capsule of a supplement called Biotivia Bioforte Resveratrol containing 250 mg of the trans-Resveratrol isomer in each dose.

In previous studies of Resveratrol the compound has been shown to have potent anti-aging properties in animals, as well as the ability to protect cells against a remarkable range of diseases. Resveratrol ( http://www.biotivia.com) seems to perform much the same function in animals the same way it does in plants; that is, act as the organism's immune and defense system. The supplement's ability to activate certain genes called sirtuins was discovered by Dr. David Sinclair at Harvard about three years ago and since that time has been the subject of hundreds of studies and trials. Albert Einstein Medical School, for example, has applied to present the results of its trial on diabetes patients to the American Diabetes Association Science Meeting in June.

In the Northumbria study, Bioforte resveratrol ( http://www.biotivia.com/bioforteresveratrol.html) increased the brain blood flow in the human subjects while they were performing mental tasks by a substantial amount. The effect seemed to be turned on by the increased demand caused by the cognitive tasks being performed by the student subjects. This implies that the effect of Resveratrol on cerebral blood flow is activated on demand when the brain is called upon to perform a challenging mental task. Could this mean that the compound can be taken in the morning before taking an exam, for example, and spring into action when needed to boost the brain's ability to cope with the exam? Possibly; however, much more study is needed to determine the proper dosage and timing for this application.

James Betz PhD, the managing director of Biotivia, the company whose supplement was purchased on the open market for use in the Northumbria trial, stated in response to this question, "This study is extremely important because it is a peer-reviewed human clinical trial, not an animal study or a study of cells in a culture. What this study tells us is that Resveratrol clearly does improve one of the key parameters of brain performance. Whether this translates into improved cognition over the short or long term is still to be determined. In the meantime, there are heaps of other reasons to take Resveratrol and given that it has not been found to be in any way toxic, it may be worth considering as a primary daily addition to your supplement regimen."

Further Reading: The Northumbria Study extract can be seen here - http://www.biotivia.com/company/news/Bioforte-Increased-Cerebral-Blood-flow-i n-New-Human-Clinical-Trial.html

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About Biotivia - http://www.biotivia.com.uk

Biotivia established 1992 in Vienna and currently has US offices in New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City and international offices in the UK, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, Xi'an China and Mumbai India.

Biotivia pioneered the science of natural health supplement (http://www.biotivia.com/) design and development based upon evidence of efficacy and safety drawn from the company's own studies and trials and in collaboration with world renowned research organizations.

Biotivia presently supplies researchers, physicians and scientists employed at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, The Albert Einstein Medical Center, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the University of California, and many others.

Biotivia is the first supplement manufacturer in the world to apply advanced "Active Packaging" technologies to its products to insure the highest level of freshness and potency even after the container is opened.

    It is also the first company to dramatically improve the bioavailability
of its products, especially its resveratrol (
http://www.biotivia.com/resveratrol.html) and polyphenol-based products. Low
bioavailability of many antioxidants (
http://www.biotivia.co.uk/anti-oxidants.html) is a common problem, which the
company's scientists have succeeded in overcoming without resorting to
synthetic additives or lowering the product dosage.

http://www.biotivia.com

SOURCE Biotivia