If you're drinking to forget, stick to white wine

In good news for red wine lovers, researchers have discovered that a compound found in some common foods may help prevent age-related decline in memory.

The compound is resveratrol, an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries. It’s not the first time resveratrol has been celebrated for its beneficial properties; it has previously been found to have potential to prevent heart disease.

But Ashok K Shetty, PhD, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine and Director of Neurosciences at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center, and his team turned their focus to the brain, studying resveratrol’s effects on the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is critical to functions such as memory, learning and mood.

In a study published in Scientific Reports, Shetty and his team reported that treatment with resveratrol had apparent benefits in terms of learning, memory and mood function in aged rats.

“The results of the study were striking,” Shetty said. “They indicated that for the control rats who did not receive resveratrol, spatial learning ability was largely maintained but ability to make new spatial memories significantly declined between 22 and 25 months. By contrast, both spatial learning and memory improved in the resveratrol-treated rats.”

Shetty said neurogenesis (the growth and development of neurons) approximately doubled in the rats given resveratrol compared to the control rats. The resveratrol-treated rats also had significantly improved microvasculature, indicating improved blood flow, and had a lower level of chronic inflammation in the hippocampus.

“The study provides novel evidence that resveratrol treatment in late middle age can help improve memory and mood function in old age,” Shetty said.

Because both humans and animals show a decline in cognitive capacity after middle age, the findings may have implications for treating memory loss in the elderly, possibly even those afflicted with severe neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Shetty’s lab is now examining the molecular mechanisms that underlie the improved cognitive function following resveratrol treatment. He also plans to conduct studies to see whether lower doses of resveratrol in the diet for prolonged periods would offer similar benefits to the aged brain.

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