Drug Company Intensifies Wine Benefits In Pill Form

Grapes are the gift that keep on giving. Resveratrol is a healthy compound found in red wine that has been touted as the treatment for any number of ailments. The major drug companies have sat up an taken notice. One pharamceutical company, Glaxo Smith Kline, claims they have taken the healthy essence of wine and reduced it to an intensified pill form. Under the headline, "Glaxo Customized 'Red Wine' Drug Potent in Mice," Reuters reporter Michael Kahn writes:

"LONDON (Reuters) - A drug in development that mimics a health-boosting compound found in red wine may be a powerful weapon in the fight against obesity and diabetes, researchers said on Tuesday."

"A study of mice showed that the GlaxoSmithKline drug SRT1720 was about a thousand times more potent than resveratrol in activating an enzyme that helped the animals burn more energy and lower their insulin and glucose levels."

"Mice fed a high-fat diet were tricked into switching their metabolisms to a fat-burning mode that normally takes over when energy levels are low, researchers reported in the journal Cell Metabolism."

"'We are activating the same enzymes that are activated when people go to the gym,' said Peter Elliott, a vice president at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the Glaxo unit that developed the drug. 'That is why we believe the profile for this drug is very safe.'

"Resveratrol is found in abundance in grapes and in red wine and is believed to provide a number of health benefits, including preventing heart disease. An earlier study from the same team showed it lowered glucose and insulin in diabetics."

You can read the rest of the article here.