Biological activities of resveratrol

Adrian M, Jeandet P, Veneau J, Weston LA, Bessis R. 1997. Biological activity of resveratrol, a stilbenic compound from grapevines, against Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent for gray mold. J Chem Ecol 23 1689-1702. 

Various aspects of biochemistry and biomedicine of resveratrol were recenfly reviewed [5, 8-16]. In this chapter, we briefly describe recent publications on the biological activity of resveratrol, its derivatives, and chemical analogues. 

Many stilbene derivates (stilbenoids) are naturally present in plants. The most widely distributed stilbenoids are resveratrol, combretastatins, and pterostilbene. These agents are derived from terrestrial plants, microorganisms, marine organisms, and animals [1,2]. This chapter is a brief review on diverse biological activities of stilbenes in cells, organs, and animals. 

Biological and preclinical activity of resveratrol has been recently reviewed [25]. 

In nature, the most abundant form of resveratrol would appear to be the 5,3,4 -dihydroxystilbene-3-0- S-D-glucopyranoside [12]. Resveratrol exists in two stereoisoforms with cis- or frans-configuration, the latter being the most widely studied, although c -resveratrol may also possess health-promoting properties. The number as well as the position of moieties play an important role in the biological activity of the compound [13]. 

Remarkably, the extracts of transgenic resveratrol containing tomato fruits displayed an anti-inflammatory effect greater than that of chemically synthesized resveratrol. In conclusion, these results indicate that the presence of a new biosynthetic route responsible for resveratrol biosynthesis improves the health-giving biological activities of tomatoes. 

This protocol could be extended to a range of different ,/i-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and either activated or deactivated aryl iodides [22], An application of related Heck chemistry to the synthesis of methylated resveratrol (3,4, 5-trihydroxy-( )-stilbene) is shown in Scheme 6.4 [23]. The phytoalexin resveratrol exhibits a variety of interesting biological and therapeutic properties, among them activity against several human cancer cell lines. Botella and Najera have shown that the trimethyl ether of resveratrol (Scheme 6.4) can be rapidly prepared by microwave-assisted Heck reaction of the appropriate aryl iodide and styrene derivatives, using the same oxime-derived palladacycle as indicated in Scheme 6.3. 

Borra, M.T., Smith, B.C. and Denu, J.M. (2005) Mechanism of human SIRTl activation by resveratrol. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280, 17187-17195. 

Mechanism of human SIRTl activation by resveratrol. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280, 17187-17195. 

The non-flavonoid phenolic constituents in wine are divided into hydroxybenzoic acids and hydroxycinnamic acids, volatile phenols, stilbenes and miscellaneous compounds (e.g. lignans and coumarins). Although non-colored, the non-flavonoid constituents are known to enhance and stabilize the color of red wines by intra- and intermolecular reactions. They furthermore contribute to wine flavor (volatile phenolic acids) and some of them (e.g. resveratrol) exhibit potent biological activities. 

It is widely accepted that polyphenols in wine are responsible for beneficial health effects (Sun et al. 2006). Particularly fran.y-resveratrol has been intensively studied and marked biological activities with regard to the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer have been reported (Ito et al. 2003). Other stilbenes also have properties similar to those of fran.y-resveratrol. Therefore, monitoring new stilbene derivatives in wine is of particular relevance (Guebailia et al. 2006). 

Therefore this present chapter is limited only to discussion on pulse radiolysis studies of promising compounds that exhibit potent biological activities for example, hydroxyl-flavonoids, resveratrol, curcumin, /3-carotene and cyclic nitroxides are reported here. 

Resveratrol [2], 3,4 ,5-trihydroxy-rra/ A-stilbene, is a phytoalexin found in grapes and other plants, that exhibits a variety of biological activities, including antileukemic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti antiplatelet aggregation, coronary vasodilator. Recently, it has been shown to induce apoptosis and decrease expression of Bcl-2 in the human leukaemia HL-60 cell line. 

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