Can Resveratrol Make You Smarter?

In the past Resveratrol has been mostly studied  as an anti-aging supplement. However a new study by the University of Northumbria in the UK has shown that resveratrol even in small doses increases blood flow to the frontal cortex of the brain. The study showed that people taking the trans-Resveratrol supplement had an increase in cerebral blood flow during the task performances.

James Betz of Biotivia, one of the world's leading suppliers of Resveratrol supplements said "what is really grabbing attention is how the supplement appears to be able to respond to increased demand from the brain within a relatively short space of time from ingestion, and how rapidly the increase in blood flow seems to happen as a response. Although more study needs to be undertaken, it does seem that a supplement such as Resveratrol could have a direct influence on one of the key areas of brain performance," he adds. The Resveratrol used in the study was Made by Biotivia

In the study, 22 healthy adults received either a placebo or two doses (measured at 250mg and 500mg) of trans-Resveratrol in counterbalanced order on separate days. After a 45-minute resting absorption period, they then carried out a selection of cognitive tasks designed to activate the frontal cortex of the brain for 36 minutes. The levels of cerebral blood flow and hemodynamics were measured and indexed, calculating the concentration changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin present in the frontal cortex throughout the post-treatment period through the use of near-infrared spectroscopy.

The study concluded that Resveratrolàs vasodilation effect seems to be activated by the demands of the brain for increased blood flow during cognitive tasks, suggesting that the effects can be 'turned on and off' as and when needed when the brain is called upon to perform more demanding tasks.

The University of Northumbria study has opened up the possibility that supplements such as Resveratrol could possibly be used to increase cognitive function through an acceleration of the blood flow to the brain, although more research needs to be done to confirm if this is the case. "Resveratrol has primarily been studied for its anti-aging properties, but this new avenue of exploration is reminding us that we still know very little about just what this remarkable compound is capable of," James adds. "We do know that it has no known toxic effects on the human body, and if it is shown to improve cognitive function, then the possibilities for its use in medical treatment for diseases such as dementia could be considerable. In the meantime, its demonstrated ability to modulate various signalling pathways and metabolic processes with positive health and disease preventative effects makes this an extraordinary compound apart from any potential neuroprotective or thearaputic properties.

The supplement's ability to activate sirtuins was discovered by Dr David Sinclair at Harvard three years ago. Since then, Resveratrol has been the subject of repeated studies by institutes all over the world. This new study which was double-blind and peer-reviewed has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Source: Biotivia News Release

Discuss this article

Name Email Message Enter code

Posts in discussion

Posted: 1 year, 9 months ago by Josh #347

I've heard that cardio exercise makes your mind sharper due to better blood flow to the brain so I can see how this study makes sense. I'd be interested to see what the further studies reveal.

Read More...