Resveratrol remains effective against cancer after the body converts it

A chemical found in red wine remains effective at fighting cancer even after the body’s metabolism has converted it into other compounds. This is an important finding in a new paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine by Cancer Research UK-funded researchers at the University of Leicester’s Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine.

The paper reveals that resveratrol – a compound extracted from the skins of red grapes – is not rendered ineffective once it is metabolised by the body.

This is an important development, as resveratrol is metabolised very quickly – and it had previously been thought that levels of the extracted chemical drop too quickly to make it usable in clinical trials.

The new research shows that the chemical can still be taken into cells after it has been metabolised into resveratrol sulfates.

Enzymes within cells are then able to break it down into resveratrol…