Red Wine, one of the many resveratrol sources

Found in red grape skins, resveratrol is a compound belonging to a branch of oriental medicine that is used to cure liver, heart and blood vessel related diseases. Being of very recent origin it has already become popular for being an effective anti-oxidant.

Resveratrol and its benefits came into focus only four years ago when a survey conducted revealed that the French rarely suffer from heart problems. Being the largest consumers of red wine, risk of heart disease among them is considerably less. In the making of red wine, the skins also go in adding to their red color. Low rate of heart problems among the French was more remarkable given their passion for high fat diets. It was found the red wine or the skins of red grapes that contain the compound resveratrol, led to the low incidence of heart diseases.

Resveratrol is not only present in the skins of red grapes, but is also found in plants like lilies, eucalyptus, spruce and present in peanuts and mulberries. But it is present abundantly in the seeds, vines, root and stalks of wine growing grapes with a high concentration in the skins of grapes. Studies have found that the concentration in the skin is extremely high. It is a part of the grape plant’s antibiotic compound to prevent diseases and fungus. It has been found the fungus in grape plants can be high in cooler climates where the resveratrol concentration is also higher.

Much of the skin remains in red wine production to lend the red color to the wines. Resveratrol content in red wine is higher as the skins remain all along during the fermentation process. But in non fermented grape products like grape juice, there is not much resveratrol present. This finding about red wines and the French have been taken with the low incidence of heart attacks and coronary diseases among general red wine drinkers.

Resveratrol has been proved to be an anti oxidant that is much more effective than Vitamins C and E.  Platelet forms less due to resveratrols as have found from tests done in artificial environments.

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