Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Health and Fitness.


Red wine makes cancer drug more potent

2011-02-15 15:10:00
Last Updated: 2011-02-15 16:03:26

File photo of a man tasting red wine in Martillac, southwestern France, March 30, 2009. Auction houses sold more than $350 million worth of wine worldwide in 2010, an amount roughly in line with or exceeding their pre-recession levels of 2007. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/Files
File photo of a man tasting red wine in Martillac, southwestern France, Mar...
London: Resveratrol, a compound which gives red wine its colour, makes breast cancer drug rapamycin more potent.

Lab tests found the ingredient can prevent cancer cells from developing resistance to the drug.

Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant produced by plants such as grapes, raspberries, cranberries and peanuts to fight off fungal and bacterial infections, the journal Cancer Letters reports.

Scientists have been exploring its potential in reducing the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's and even the ageing process, according to the Daily Mail.

Prof Charis Eng from Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute in Ohio, said: 'Rapamycin has been used in clinical trials as a cancer treatment. Unfortunately, after a while, the cancer cells develop resistance to rapamycin.

'Our findings show resveratrol seems to mitigate rapamycin-induced drug resistance in breast cancers, at least in the laboratory.'

Resveratrol is also available in supplement form. In high doses it causes side effects such as insomnia, joint pain, diarrhoea and acne. 

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