Resveratrol Strengthens Effects Of Chemotherapy When Treating Cancer

Latest research with resveratrol has found some hope-giving results for people suffering from pancreatic cancer and who undergo chemotherapy with little respite. Pancreatic cancer cells are tough to destroy and highly resilience in the face of chemotherapy. This is because pancreas are mainly involved in producing and flushing enzymes into the duodenum, and in the process, they also flush out the chemicals used in chemotherapy, thus lowering the overall impact of the treatment.

The new study has been able to prove that resveratrol can well be a potent factor in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The research was conducted using pancreatic cancer cells and treating some of them with 50 mg of resveratrol prior to iodizing them to simulate chemotherapy.

The results showed that those cancer cells that had been treated with resveratrol became more sensitive to the effects of chemotherapy. While the exact mechanism by which this happens has yet not been fully understood, it was seen that resveratrol lowered the ability of the cancerous cell’s cell membrane proteins to pump out the fluids.

Resveratrol also damaged the mitochondria of these cells thus lowering their overall functional capacity. Researchers also found that resveratrol led to an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species that led to enhanced pancreatic cancer cells apoptosis (or programmed cell death).

This study, reported in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Journal, is in line with the recent interest in exploring specific impacts of resveratrol. The general benefits of resveratrol, based on its ability to remove free radicals from the body, are well documented in the form of protection against cardiovascular diseases and degenerative diseases and as anti-aging agent.

This highly potent ingredient can be taken in the form of red wine, red grapes and certain types of nuts. However, resveratrol supplements that are readily available and easy to use are a convenient option.

The specific impacts of resveratrol are only now being researched, with some very interesting outcomes coming to light. For example, different studies have found that resveratrol makes HIV more sensitive to antiviral drugs, reduces the impact of influenza virus and reduce the detrimental impacts of a high-fat diet.

Recent research has also found that resveratrol is a better alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for treating menopausal symptoms owing to its zero side-effects. The resveratrol’s impact on pancreatic tumor cells by making them more sensitive to radiation has shown that the total benefits and therapeutic gains of resveratrol are yet to be revealed.

Tags: pancreatic cancer resveratrol study, resveratrol cancer studies, resveratrol strengthens chemotherapy