Resveratrol May Improve Liver Health and Regulate an Obesity-Controlling Hormone

Resveratrol, a flavonoid from red wine has received a lot of attention from naturopathic physcians in the past 10 or 12 years. It seems maybe science is catching up. Resveratrol has been used as an anti-oxidant, helps control blood sugar for diabetics, and appears to reduce the profliferation of cancer. I have also used it to help people with the eye condition calle Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD). It strengthens blood vessels and helps with circulation of blood thus bringing nutrients and oxygen to cells which have been deprived.

Now a study is out concerning the use of resveratrol in fatty liver disease which seems to be caused by too high of alcohol consumptions and also poor diet. As a bonus, reseachers may have found a link in reducing the body's ability to make certain fats and to help burn it as energy instead of storing it.

Researchers report that the polyphenol resveratrol may stop the development of fatty liver disease, a condition associated with frequent alcohol consumption, and that it may influence the activity of an obesity-controlling hormone known as adiponectin.

The study authors divided mice into groups and fed all the animals a low-fat diet. One group of the mice consumed a diet supplemented with resveratrol, one group was supplemented with resveratrol plus alcohol, one group with only alcohol, and a control group consumed only the low-fat diet without alcohol or resveratrol.

The results indicated that resveratrol activated two molecules involved in cell signaling and the breakdown of fats in the liver: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Alcohol is known to inhibit these molecules, leading to fat build-up and fatty liver, but resveratrol activated AMPK and SIRT1 in the livers of alcohol-fed mice.

Another interesting finding of the study was that the increased activation of AMPK and SIRT1 caused by resveratrol in alcohol-fed rats also was accompanied by changes in the levels of other molecules that control fat metabolism, including adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, which helps to control obesity. By triggering these changes, resveratrol may stop fat from accumulating in the liver through reducing the production of fat and increasing the burning of fat already present.

According to the scientists, “Our study suggests that resveratrol may serve as a promising agent for preventing or treating human alcoholic fatty liver disease.”

Reference:
Ajmo JM, Liang X, Rogers CQ, Pennock B, You M. Resveratrol alleviates alcoholic fatty liver in mice. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008 Oct;295(4):G833-42.