No need to develop new, synthetic forms of resveratrol, say researchers - natural resveratrol works just fine!

(NaturalNews) Researchers from the U.K. have made a breakthrough discovery with regards to resveratrol, the well-known antioxidant compound in grape skins that is hailed for its incredible anti-aging and anti-cancer benefits. A team of scientists from the University of Leicester's (UL) Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine recently found that, even after being broken down by the body into sulfate and glucuronide metabolites, resveratrol continues to actively fight cancer and other diseases.Because resveratrol quickly converts into metabolite form upon ingestion, some scientists have previously questioned whether or not it is even viable as a medicinal food at current dosages taken orally. But based on new observations, it has become clear that resveratrol is processed by the body much differently than the scientific community at large had previously thought and that it is actually quite potent when taken in supplement form.According to a recent news release put out by the Alpha Galileo Foundation (AGF), the UL team found that resveratrol is capable of reconverting back into the usable form after being broken down into sulfate and glucuronide metabolites, which was not previously recognized. Cellular enzymes basically recapture these metabolites and regenerate them, creating what appears to be an even more effective type of resveratrol, at higher concentrations, than what was initially ingested.After its reconversion, this new active form of resveratrol can not only help slow the growth of cancer but also trigger cancer cell apoptosis. It apparently does this by causing cancer cells to digest their own internal constituents, which prevents them from dividing and multiplying. Eventually, these resveratrol compounds eliminate the disease altogether, affirming the results of dozens of studies published within the past decade that identified anti-cancer benefits of resveratrol."There is a lot of strong evidence from laboratory models that resveratrol can do a whole host of beneficial things, from protecting against a variety of cancers and heart disease to extending lifespan," says Professor Karen Brown, lead author of the new study. "Our study was the first to show that resveratrol can be regenerated from sulfate metabolites in cells and that this resveratrol can then have biological activity that could be useful in a wide variety of diseases in humans."Like with most natural substances that exhibit therapeutic promise, resveratrol has been a major target for commercialization in recent years, especially as drug companies look for novel ways to isolate and patent its so-called "active" ingredients for massive financial gain. But according to Prof. Brown and her colleagues, resveratrol works just fine in its natural form, which means there is no need to mess with it."There is considerable commercial interest in developing new forms of resveratrol that can resist or overcome the issue of rapid metabolism," Prof. Brown is quoted as saying by AGF. "Our results suggest such products may not actually be necessary to deliver biologically active doses of resveratrol to people."There are also hundreds of other published studies that corroborate these new findings, including research that shows resveratrol helps repair DNA damage and gene expression abnormalities, normalize insulin levels in diabetics, protect against oxidative damage and quell disease-causing inflammation.You can explore the science on resveratrol by visitingYou can also view an abstract of the new study, which was published in the journal, here: