Adipose Tissue and Resveratrol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adipose Tissue and Resveratrol - Essay Example Several studies found that Resveratrol, a plant-produced polyphenolic flavonoid, delays age-related diseases later in the lives of young laboratory animals, and alleviates existing conditions of various health illnesses, such as obesity. This substance is abundant in grape skin, nuts, and pomegranates. The mechanism by which it acts was found to be similar to that of Dietary or Caloric Restriction (DR or CR), or reduction of food intake by 30-50% by every-other-day feeding. DR has been found to delay the onset of the deleterious effects of oxidative stress and subsequent diseases and functional decline. Despite its health-improving effects, it has its contraindications. It is not suitable for the weak and ill, because they need the calories for energy. Following DR also requires enormous amount of discipline, as it demands a change in eating habits and lifestyles. Thus, there is interest in developing substances that mimics the health-improving action of DR (Pearson, et al., 2008) Ac tion on Adipose Tissue Resveratrol is found to activate sirtuins, a family of NAD+-dependent histone deacetylase SIRT1 that acts on PGC1a, which, in turn, unregulating mitochondrial gene expression and subsequently increasing metabolic efficiency (Pearson et al., 2008; Koi and Montminy, 2006). Several studies have already determined its action on various tissues and on various animals. This paper focuses on the polyphenol’s action on adipose tissues.