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The double-blind, peer-reviewed study was recently published in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition and concludes that a relatively smalldose of the compound can modulate cerebral blood flow variables and actuallyincrease blood flow during task performance. In the study, 22 healthy adultsreceived either a placebo or two doses (measured at 250mg and 500mg) oftrans-Resveratrol in counterbalanced order on separate days. After a45-minute resting absorption period, they then carried out a selection ofcognitive tasks designed to activate the frontal cortex of the brain for 36minutes. The levels of cerebral blood flow and hemodynamics were measured andindexed, calculating the concentration changes in oxygenated and deoxygenatedhaemoglobin present in the frontal cortex throughout the post-treatmentperiod through the use of near-infrared spectroscopy.
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Unexpected results
The results were remarkable. The study showed that subjects taking thetrans-Resveratrol supplement demonstrated an increase in cerebral blood flowduring the task performances. The increase in deoxyhaemoglobin after bothdoses suggested that there was substantially enhanced oxygen extractionthroughout the process. While cognitive function was not affected, theresults do open the doors for further investigation as to the longer termeffects of continued use of Resveratrol and its direct affect on the bloodflow to the frontal cortex of the brain - the area most used for taskperformance, hand/eye co-ordination and cognitive processing.
The study concluded that ResveratrolĂ s vasodilation effect seems to beactivated by the demands of the brain for increased blood flow duringcognitive tasks, suggesting that the effects can be 'turned on and off' asand when needed when the brain is called upon to perform more demandingtasks. The supplement's ability to activate sirtuins was discovered by DrDavid Sinclair at Harvard three years ago. Since then, Resveratrol has beenthe subject of repeated studies by institutes all over the world. "Theresearch into Resveratrol's influence on the blood flow to the frontal cortexof the brain is particularly interesting," comments James Betz of Biotivia,one of the world's leading suppliers of Resveratrol supplements. "But what isreally grabbing attention is how the supplement appears to be able to respondto increased demand from the brain within a relatively short space of timefrom ingestion, and how rapidly the increase in blood flow seems to happen asa response. Although more study needs to be undertaken, it does seem that asupplement such as Resveratrol could have a direct influence on one of thekey areas of brain performance," he adds.
The University of Northumbria study has opened up the possibility thatsupplements such as Resveratrol could possibly be used to increase cognitivefunction through an acceleration of the blood flow to the brain, althoughmore research needs to be done to confirm if this is the case. "Resveratrolhas primarily been studied for its anti-aging properties, but this new avenueof exploration is reminding us that we still know very little about just whatthis remarkable compound is capable of," James adds. "We do know that it hasno known toxic effects on the human body, and if it is shown to improvecognitive function, then the possibilities for its use in medical treatmentfor diseases such as dementia could be considerable. In the meantime, itsdemonstrated ability to modulate various signalling pathways and metabolicprocesses with positive health and disease preventative effects makes this anextraordinary compound apart from any potential neuroprotective orthearaputic properties.
The Northumbria Study:http://www.biotivia.com/company/news/Bioforte-Increased-Cerebral-Blood-flow-in-New-Human-Clinical-Trial.html
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About Biotivia - http://www.biotivia.com
Biotivia established 1992 in Vienna and currently has US offices in NewYork, Los Angeles, Kansas City and international offices in the UK, Spain,Austria, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, Xi'an China andMumbai India.
Biotivia pioneered the science of natural health supplement(http://www.biotivia.com/) design and development based upon evidence ofefficacy and safety drawn from the company's own studies and trials and incollaboration with world renowned research organizations.
Biotivia presently supplies researchers, physicians and scientistsemployed at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, The Albert Einstein MedicalCenter, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the University ofCalifornia, and many others.
Biotivia is the first supplement manufacturer in the world to applyadvanced "Active Packaging" technologies to its products to insure thehighest level of freshness and potency even after the container is opened.It is also the first company to dramatically improve the bioavailabilityof its products, especially its resveratrol (http://www.biotivia.com/resveratrol.html) and polyphenol-based products. Lowbioavailability of many antioxidants (http://www.biotivia.co.uk/anti-oxidants.html) is a common problem, which thecompany's scientists have succeeded in overcoming without resorting tosynthetic additives or lowering the product dosage.
SOURCE Biotivia
