16 replies to this topic

[jesse2001]

Hi Everyone,

Does resveratrol exhibit strong antioxidant activity? I've run across conflicting information about this question. There is a lot of talk about resveratrol being a "powerful antioxidant," but a lot of that comes from marketing verbiage from companies selling it. But a supplier of 98 and 99% resveratrol told me "Resveratrol is a very weak anti-oxidant, to the point of irrelevance."

I've seen some information on this forum that seems to concur with the latter opinion, but nothing that explicitly states it is or it isn't. So I thought I'd ask.

Thanks!

[niner]

Does resveratrol exhibit strong antioxidant activity? I've run across conflicting information about this question. There is a lot of talk about resveratrol being a "powerful antioxidant," but a lot of that comes from marketing verbiage from companies selling it. But a supplier of 98 and 99% resveratrol told me "Resveratrol is a very weak anti-oxidant, to the point of irrelevance."

I've seen some information on this forum that seems to concur with the latter opinion, but nothing that explicitly states it is or it isn't. So I thought I'd ask.

I think "weak, to the point of irrelevance" is closer to the truth. Resveratrol's actions are receptor-mediated. It doesn't act by virtue of simple antioxidant activity, or vitamin E would act the same way.

[Anthony_Loera]

If all anti-oxidants provided the benefits that Resveratrol appears to provide... it would not have made such a big splash when it came out.

But if you really need to measure it's antioxidant capacity, or the Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) then:
The ORAC value of trans-resveratrol estimated at 3000 per 100mg


Cheers
A

[maxwatt]

If all anti-oxidants provided the benefits that Resveratrol appears to provide... it would not have made such a big splash when it came out.

But if you really need to measure it's antioxidant capacity, or the Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) then:
The ORAC value of trans-resveratrol estimated at 3000 per 100mg


Cheers
A

For comparison:

Item ORAC Value
Spices, cloves, ground 314,446
Sumac, bran, raw 312,400
Spices, cinnamon, ground 267,536
Sorghum, bran, hi-tannin 240,000
Spices, oregano, dried 200,129
Spices, turmeric, ground 159,277
Acai berry, freeze-dried 102,700
Sorghum, bran, black 100,800
Sumac, grain, raw 86,800
Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened 80,933
Spices, cumin seed 76,800
Maqui berry, concentrated powder 75,000
Spices, parsley, dried 74,349
Sorghum, bran, red 71,000
Spices, basil, dried 67,553
Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares 49,926
Spices, curry powder 48,504
Sorghum, grain, hi-tannin 45,400
Chocolate, dutched powder 40,200
Maqui berry, juice 40,000
Sage, fresh 32,004
Spices, mustard seed, yellow 29,257
Spices, ginger, ground 28,811
Spices, pepper, black 27,618
Thyme, fresh 27,426
Marjoram, fresh 27,297
Goji berries 25,300
Rice bran, crude 24,287
Spices, chili powder 23,636
Sorghum, grain, black 21,900
Candies, chocolate, dark 20,823
Flax hull lignans 19,600
Candies, semisweet chocolate 18,053
Nuts, pecans 17,940
Spices, paprika 17,919
Chokeberry, raw 16,062
Tarragon, fresh 15,542
Ginger root, raw 14,840
Elderberries, raw 14,697
Sorghum, grain, red 14,000
Peppermint, fresh 13,978
Oregano, fresh 13,970
Nuts, walnuts, english 13,541
Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts 9,645
Cranberries, raw 9,584

[malbecman]

...and lets not forget that the ORAC score is just based on an vitro test which really may or may not have true in vivo relevance. There are other in vitro assays that will give different scores/relative rankings for the same nutrients as compared to ORAC.
It just happens to be the most popular/cited assay.

[Anthony_Loera]

...and lets not forget that the ORAC score is just based on an vitro test which really may or may not have true in vivo relevance. There are other in vitro assays that will give different scores/relative rankings for the same nutrients as compared to ORAC.
It just happens to be the most popular/cited assay.

I completely agree with you malbecman.

Maxwatt, any serving sizes in your list? (typically it's ORAC per a certain serving size)

Cheers

A

[DukeNukem]

No one should bother taking ANY supplement for its supposed antioxidant benefit, or ORAC value. Huge red-herring, IMO.

The reason to take resveratrol is for its other physiological benefits.

[medievil]

Antioxidants are overrated garbage, bad reason for a sup to take.

[maxwatt]

...and lets not forget that the ORAC score is just based on an vitro test which really may or may not have true in vivo relevance. There are other in vitro assays that will give different scores/relative rankings for the same nutrients as compared to ORAC.
It just happens to be the most popular/cited assay.

I completely agree with you malbecman.

Maxwatt, any serving sizes in your list? (typically it's ORAC per a certain serving size)

Cheers

A

per 100 grams I think that's a standard.

[jesse2001]

Thanks for all the great responses folks.

I was curious as I'm interested in giving it as a cancer treatment to my dog, inspired by this thread.

I am currently giving him artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone which forms free radicals when exposed to free iron. Artemisinin is thought to act against cancer cells by a two-step mechansim. First, intracellular free iron induces a chemical reaction in the endoperoxide moiety that generates carbon-based free radicals. Second, these free radicals act as alkylating agents inducing apoptotic cell death through caspase pathway activation. This reaction is selectively toxic to cells in pathologic conditions in which intracellular free iron levels are uncontrollably elevated, such as cancer cells. (Taken from http://www.artbiomed...smofaction.html)

Since the mechanism of action is dependent upon free radicals, the use of strong antioxidants is contraindicated while using artemisinin, and I am trying to determine if using resveratrol as well would diminish its effectiveness.

Edit: fixed broken link.

Edited by niner, 19 May 2010 - 02:33 AM.

[applepoly]

Sorry, but if you're not taking antioxidants, you're not reading the research. And if your antioxidants aren't working, you're taking the wrong ones.

Let's clear up some ORAC confusion here. The numbers listed for comparison are accurate per 100 grams, a standard USDA food portion. Why is that important? Because 100 grams of resveratrol, based on Brunswick Lab tests (not estimates), has an ORAC value in the millions (2,384,200).

Few of us are taking 100 grams of resveratrol. I take 3 grams daily. But you have to compare apples to apples, or simply declare all apple testing irrelevant.

If we compare ORAC per gram, the vaunted clove drops to 3,144. Still impressive for a natural food/spice, but far from (our) resveratrol at 23,842 per gram. Most foods aren't even on the same chart.

I don't see anyone here taking clove to lengthen lifespan, though it would probably help. But for those of you who think that antioxidant activity is irrelevant... I don't know where to start. You must think it's coincidence that the most important compounds to emerge in human longevity research (procyanidins, EGCG and resveratrol) are all in this antioxidant range (20,000 to 30,000 ORAC per gram).

ORAC is a useful tool to measure the relative antioxidant value of different foods. Why is this important? Because the antioxidant value of foods correlates to both the health value of that food, and the polyphenol content of that food. Trust me, if you're at all interested in your health, you want high ORAC, high polyphenol content in what you eat. The real measure of any healthy food is it's available (free) polyphenol content, and that corresponds roughly to ORAC. Broccoli is healthier than cheese doodles. This is not difficult to grasp. But if you do grasp it, you simply cannot dismiss antioxidant capacity as irrelevant.

ORAC is really useful when it comes to the quality of the resveratrol you're taking. It is a standardized measure of bioactivity. You want that in a resveratrol. If the manufacturer of your resveratrol uses estimates, or doesn't publish, or more likely has no idea of the ORAC value of his product, sorry, that's not good enough for me.

ORAC is not the end of the story, it's the beginning. But it's a great place to start. Are there other important radicals besides peroxyl? Of course. What is the bioavailability of the compound? Crucial. What is the BBB permeability and distribution? How does it do what it does when it gets where it goes? Fascinating and ultimately critical.

But antioxidant capacity irrelevant? Nonsense.

[Blue]

But for those of you who think that antioxidant activity is irrelevant... I don't know where to start.

How about studies supporting your claims? Wikipedia quotes some studies to the contrary regarding ORAC:
http://en.wikipedia....rbance_capacity

[kismet]

Estimating ORAC is like wondering how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The question per se is not nonsensical, but the answer...

Edited by kismet, 19 May 2010 - 05:57 PM.

[ahk]

I was curious as I'm interested in giving it as a cancer treatment to my dog, inspired by this thread.

You should also check out this TED video on angiogenesis here: http://www.ted.com/t...william_li.html
He talks about some remarkable cases of animal cancers being treated with anti-angiogenesis drugs. Some pretty interesting data on nutraceuticals as well. IMO, the anti-angiogenesis ratings he's calculated could end up being more important than the ORAC values for foods.

Edited by ahk, 19 May 2010 - 06:05 PM.

[maxwatt]

Sorry, but if you're not taking antioxidants, you're not reading the research. And if your antioxidants aren't working, you're taking the wrong ones.

Let's clear up some ORAC confusion here. The numbers listed for comparison are accurate per 100 grams, a standard USDA food portion. Why is that important? Because 100 grams of resveratrol, based on Brunswick Lab tests (not estimates), has an ORAC value in the millions (2,384,200).
....
But antioxidant capacity irrelevant? Nonsense.

However high the test tube ORAc score of resveratrol, the maximum serum concentrations that can be achieved with oral supplementation are so low as to render it irrelevant.

[urba]

Sorry, but if you're not taking antioxidants, you're not reading the research. And if your antioxidants aren't working, you're taking the wrong ones.

Let's clear up some ORAC confusion here. The numbers listed for comparison are accurate per 100 grams, a standard USDA food portion. Why is that important? Because 100 grams of resveratrol, based on Brunswick Lab tests (not estimates), has an ORAC value in the millions (2,384,200).
....
But antioxidant capacity irrelevant? Nonsense.

However high the test tube ORAc score of resveratrol, the maximum serum concentrations that can be achieved with oral supplementation are so low as to render it irrelevant.

Hi,
chemical structure of Resveratrol consists of two phenol rings. Could it be converted in human cell into three rings containing Apigenin - hypermethylated tumour suppressor genes (p53, DLC1 demethylating agent)?

[maxwatt]

Sorry, but if you're not taking antioxidants, you're not reading the research. And if your antioxidants aren't working, you're taking the wrong ones.

Let's clear up some ORAC confusion here. The numbers listed for comparison are accurate per 100 grams, a standard USDA food portion. Why is that important? Because 100 grams of resveratrol, based on Brunswick Lab tests (not estimates), has an ORAC value in the millions (2,384,200).
....
But antioxidant capacity irrelevant? Nonsense.

However high the test tube ORAc score of resveratrol, the maximum serum concentrations that can be achieved with oral supplementation are so low as to render it irrelevant.

Hi,
chemical structure of Resveratrol consists of two phenol rings. Could it be converted in human cell into three rings containing Apigenin - hypermethylated tumour suppressor genes (p53, DLC1 demethylating agent)?

It is extremely unlikely that we have the enzymes to perform such a conversion.