[attach id=243334 size="medium"]Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant derived from grapes.[/attach]

Numerous studies and reports over the last decade have linked the benefits of resveratrol, a compound found naturally in red wine and other foods like berries and peanuts, with a variety of health issues. Now, scientists are testing synthetic forms of resveratrol on patients as a way to extend life.

According to a recent report in the journal Science, David Sinclair, professor of genetics at Harvard University, said ageing might not actually be an “irreversible affliction”.

Sinclair claimed to have performed experiments that showed these resveratrol-based compounds were having a direct effect on health: resveratrol speeds up a target enzyme called SIRT1, which has the potential to prevent disease and slow ageing.

He explained that increasing SIRT1 activity improved how well our cells operated, making them less sluggish. In previous experiments, mice, bees and flies that were given the SIRT1-boosting compounds lived longer. The drugs being used are synthetic versions of resveratrol, found in the skin and seeds of grapes, an organic chemical long thought to have a beneficial effect on health.

Both resveratrol and the artificial versions of it are believed to have an anti-ageing effect; however, the human-made versions are much stronger. The drugs that were tested are 100 times stronger than what you would find in a glass of wine.

“We’re finding that ageing isn’t the irreversible affliction that we thought it was – some of us could live to 150, but we won’t get there without more research,” Sinclair said.