Resveratrol May Aid in Weight Loss

 Recent studies have tied resveratrol to longer lifespan, enhanced athletic performance, reduced risk of colorectal and prostate cancer, and reduced inflammation.

A new study has found that resveratrol helps lemurs lose weight.¹ This is interesting because it is the first time the anti-obesity effect has been reported in a primate; this effect has been seen in other animals, most notably in mice.² In that study, researchers found that resveratrol doubled the athletic endurance of lab mice, controlled weight gain, and prevented diabetes.

The new study used grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus), named for their diminutive size, as the model animal. Grey mouse lemurs are a type primate native to the island of Madagascar. Like other primates, lemurs are considered to be distant relatives of humans. For the study, the lemurs were fed 200mg of resveratrol per kg of body weight daily for 4 weeks during the lemurs' normal body-mass gain period (winter). Throughout the test period, the researchers measured body mass, spontaneous energy intake, resting metabolic rate, spontaneous locomotor activity, and daily variations in body temperature.

The researchers determined that "resveratrol reduced the seasonal body-mass gain by concomitantly decreasing energy intake by 13% and increasing resting metabolic rate by 29%." The researchers also monitored hormones known to regulate satiety and found no significant changes except for an increase in glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, a hormone that regulates the use of stored fat. This indicates that the lemurs we consuming their fat stores as well as decreasing their daily dietary intakes.

Due to its short duration and small size, this study is very limited in its scope and what can be drawn from it. Likewise with all animal studies, lemurs are not humans, and it is not know if the results would transfer to humans. Nonetheless, it is an interesting finding that further demonstrates that resveratrol may have beneficial effects in a broad array of animals.

Learn more about resveratrol and its potential benefits here.

1. Dal-Pan, A., S. Blanc, et al. (2010). "Resveratrol suppresses body mass gain in a seasonal non-human primate model of obesity." BMC Physiol 10(1): 11.

2. Lagouge, M., C. Argmann, et al. (2006). "Resveratrol improves mitochondrial function and protects against metabolic disease by activating SIRT1 and PGC-1alpha." Cell 127(6): 1109-22.