Reservatrol can Keep Your Brain Healthy

Resveratrol Reduces Brain Cell Inflammation and Senescence, Shows Study. Resveratrol can help keep your brain cells healthy by reducing inflammation and senescence, a process by which cells age and permanently stop dividing but do not die.

A study shows that resveratrol reduces brain cell inflammation and senescence.

Resveratrol reduces senescence markers and inflammation in brain cells from the hypothalamus — a region of the brain that may regulate the process of aging.

Resveratrol, a substance found in red wine, chocolate, and some berries, can lengthen your lifespan by activating the gene for the sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) enzyme.

The hypothalamus is a part of the brain that controls a lot of what’s going on in our bodies – like how successful we are at reproducing and how often we’re awake or asleep. Scientists think that when this brain region becomes inflamed, it throws our bodies off balance and causes problems like obesity and aging. A new study from Brazil suggests that a grape molecule called resveratrol could help reduce this inflammation.

Sovrani and colleagues recently tested resveratrol’s effects on brain cells in aged rats.

When they treated brain cells in a dish with resveratrol, they found that it reduced inflammation and senescence and activated the gene for SIRT1, which is an anti-aging target.

Resveratrol can help keep your brain cells healthy by reducing inflammation and the senescence - a process by which cell ages and permanently stop dividing but do not die.

Astrocytes are constantly interacting with neurons and other cells in the central nervous system, as well as blood vessels, to keep extracellular molecules in balance, however, during aging, astrocytes transition to a pro-inflammatory state, which can result in neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation.

Sovrani and colleagues isolated astrocytes from the hypothalamus of 24-month-old rats and put them in a dish to grow.

After adding resveratrol to the dish, they measured gene and protein activity changes. The results suggested that resveratrol decreases inflammation.

When the marker p21 for cell senescence went down, it suggested that cell senescence was reduced.

For the past few decades, researchers have found many molecules linked to living longer and making age-related diseases less severe. Two examples of these molecules are SIRT1 and AMPK. AMPK is an enzyme that helps keep the cell’s energy level balanced.

Researchers have found that certain molecules are linked to living longer, making age-related diseases less severe. An example of two of these molecules is SIRT1 and AMPK.

The Brazilian researchers also looked at genes involved in aging processes other than inflammation, senescence, and longevity. For example, resveratrol activates genes for antioxidant enzymes and others that control mitochondrial health. Additionally, genes for balancing glutamate were increased, suggesting a reduction in glutamate toxicity. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that can be toxic to the brain if not correctly balanced and regulated, which may underline diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Combining Resveratrol with NMN 

• Resveratrol is a polyphenol (plant molecule) that naturally occurs in grapes, wines, peanuts, and berries, although in small quantities. Resveratrol can also be taken in supplement form at doses associated with its anti-aging benefits. Both resveratrol and NMN have been shown to improve cognition in rats, which may result from reduced hypothalamic inflammation. Interestingly, it has been reported that combining NMN and resveratrol reduces NAD+ levels in the brain but increases NAD+ in organs like muscle in mice. Another curiosity, an NMN transporter in the hypothalamus is associated with slowing muscle decline. More research is needed to determine how resveratrol and NMN affect the hypothalamus and then regulate the aging of other organs like muscle.