[extropy-chat] Resveratrol Life Extension Effects found to Extend to Vertebrates by Italian Researchers

[Gary Miller]

Anyone out there using these supplements already.

Any noticable benefits or unpleasant side effects other than the high cost?

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Resveratrol extends lifespan of vertebrate

You've head about the ability of resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and
other plant foods, to extend lifespan in yeast, roundworms and fruit flies.
Now researchers in Italy have shown that resveratrol can extend the lifespan
of the vertebrate Northobranchius furzeri, a small fish with a maximum
lifespan of 13 weeks in captivity. The research was published in the
February 7, 2006 issue of the journal Current Biology.

Alessandro Cellerino of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and colleagues
added three concentrations of resveratrol to the food of 110 four week old
fish, while 47 fish received standard diets. Thirty fish received diets
containing 24 micrograms resveratrol per gram of food, 60 received 120
micrograms per gram, and 20 fish received 600 micrograms per gram. The fish
were not allowed to eat unlimited amounts of food, but were fed a defined
amount twice per day.

The scientists found that while the control fish lived life spans comparable
to untreated fish, supplementation with resveratrol resulted in a
dose-dependent extension of median and maximum life span. The 120 microgram
per gram food dose of resveratrol was associated with an increase in median
lifespan of 33 percent and a 27 percent extension of maximum lifespan, while
the highest dose of resveratrol elicited a 56 percent increase in median and
59 percent increase in maximum life span. Resveratrol-treated females
continued to lay eggs and males were still able to fertilize eggs at 12
weeks of age after all of the control fish were dead, and these eggs
developed into normal adults.

Control fish showed a reduction in spontaneous swimming at nine weeks of age
compared to five week old fish, revealing a reduction in locomotor
efficiency, yet there was actually an increase in swimming performance in
resveratrol-treated fishes until ten weeks of age. Cognitive performance, as
evaluated by task learning, was also shown to decline in nine week old
compared to five week old control fish, but in fish treated with the 120
microgram per gram food dose of resveratrol, the age-dependent reduction was
completely prevented. In addition, the resveratrol treated fish showed an
absence of neurofibrillary degeneration, which was present in nine week old,
but not five week old control fish. These findings led the authors to
question whether life extension induced by resveratrol could be the result
of a protective action on the nervous system.

In answer to how resveratrol works, the authors write that the mechanisms
aren't clear, but conclude that "the observation that its supplementation
with food extends vertebrate lifespan and delays motor and cognitive
age-related decline could be of high relevance for the prevention of
aging-related diseases in the human population."