Compound Present In Red Wine May Help Control Obesity

A new study done on lemurs suggests that the compound resveratrol, commonly found in red wine, may help in combating obesity. When they consumed daily supplements of resveratrol, lemurs gained less weight during their seasonal fattening period. Scientists from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris conducted the study in order to explore dietary supplementation or nutrient strategies that could decrease body mass gain and obesity.

Live Science has more on the experiment:

To investigate resveratrol’s impact on weight gain, scientists fed six gray mouse lemurs daily doses of the compound. These animals, which weigh about 0.3 pounds (133 grams) on average, naturally put on grams in the winter time. After four weeks, the lemurs showed a significant reduction in their weight gain. They initially gained 1.2 grams per day, but dropped to around 0.5 grams per day by the end of the experiment. The lemurs also had a 29-percent increase in their resting metabolic rate, meaning they burned more energy without increasing their activity. They also had a 13-percent decrease in how much they ate, suggesting the compound could interfere with appetite.

The scientists said that more research would be needed to determine exactly how resveratrol might manipulate appetites. In previous studies, resveratrol has also shown to have antioxidant and life-extending properties.

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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