The researchers divided the mice into two groups. They gave the mice in one group a small, single dose of resveratrol. Two hours later they induced an ischaemic stroke in both groups, (when blood supply to the brain is cut off).

The mice that had been given resveratrol suffered significantly less brain damage than those that hadn’t. Sylvain Doré, an associate professor of anaesthesiology and critical care medicine and pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, lead the research. He says the study suggests that resveratrol increases levels of an enzyme, heme oxygenase, that is already known to shield nerve cells in the brain from damage.

“Our study adds to evidence that resveratrol can potentially build brain resistance to ischaemic stroke,” says Doré. This doesn’t mean that you should start downing resveratrol supplements. In fact Sylvain Doré cautions against it, as the evidence so far is unclear on whether these supplements could do harm or good.

Although resveratrol comes from red grapes, it may be that the alcohol in red wine is needed to concentrate the amounts of the compound. But that doesn’t mean that you should open another bottle of red wine. No-one knows yet how much resveratrol you need to give the best protection to the brain. And we don’t yet know which kind of red wine to choose, as different types of red wine contain different amounts of this compound.

In the end, the amount of resveratrol you need to protect your brain from stroke could be quite small. “Resveratrol itself may not be shielding brain cells from free radical damage directly. Instead resveratrol and its metabolites may be prompting the cells to defend themselves,” says Doré.

“It’s not likely that brain cells can have high enough local levels of resveratrol to be protective,” he says. The resveratrol is needed to jump-start this protective enzymatic system that is already present within the cells. “Even a small amount may be sufficient,” Doré says. (The research is ongoing, so we can expect further news on this subject. Doré is also testing the effects of giving resveratrol to mice after a stroke. This work is also in it early stages, but so far results suggest that it may be beneficial.)

However tempting, don’t over-do it. Too much booze will still be bad for your health. “We know that small amounts of alcohol seem to help protect against ischaemic strokes, which is a clot in the brain,” says Andrea Lane, spokesperson for The Stroke Association. “Alcohol may help to thin the blood and reduce the risk of clots forming. However, even small amounts of alcohol can increase your risk of haemorrhagic stroke, which is a bleed.”

“We recommend that people drink alcohol in moderation. This is 2-3 units a day for women and 3-4 units a day for men. Making lifestyle changes such as eating healthily, taking regular exercise and quitting smoking can all help to reduce your risk of stroke.”

The figures above are the Government’s lower risk drinking guidelines. This means what it says, they are lower, but not necessarily low risk. “It’s certainly not a recommendation that you drink this much every day,” says Thérèse Lyras, spokesperson for Alcohol Concern. “Everyone is different, we all have varying tolerance, and even a small amount of alcohol can contain an element of risk.”

The study, conducted by researchers from Cleveland Clinic”s Lerner Research Institute, also indicated that the PTEN tumor-suppressing gene contributes to resveratrol”s anti-tumor effects in this treatment combination.

Charis Eng, Chair of the Genomic Medicine Institute of Cleveland Clinic”s Lerner Research Institute, led her team to study the effect of combining resveratrol, a chemopreventive drug found in many natural compounds, with rapamycin on breast cancer cells.

The research demonstrated an additive effect between these two drugs on breast cancer cell signaling and growth.

“Rapamycin has been used in clinical trials as a cancer treatment. Unfortunately, after a while, the cancer cells develop resistance to rapamycin,” Eng said.

“Our findings show that resveratrol seems to mitigate rapamycin-induced drug resistance in breast cancers, at least in the laboratory. If these observations hold true in the clinic setting, then enjoying a glass of red wine or eating a bowl of boiled peanuts – which has a higher resveratrol content than red wine – before rapamycin treatment for cancer might be a prudent approach.”

Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant drug used to prevent rejection in organ transplantation, has been considered for the use of anti-tumor activity against breast cancer.

Resveratrol is a type of polyphenol that is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent of red wine, and has been considered for multiple uses regarding cellular therapies.

Despite the potential for tumor suppression, rapamycin”s efficacy with respect to growth inhibition differs markedly among various breast cancer cell lines. The effect of resveratrol and rapamycin, alone and in combination, on cell growth of three human breast cancer cell lines was assessed.

Rapamycin, resveratrol, and combinations of these agents inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. In all three cell lines tested, the presence of low concentrations of resveratrol and rapamycin was sufficient

to induce 50 percent growth inhibition.

Although relatively early, these observations may suggest resveratrol as a powerful integrative medicine adjunct to traditional chemotherapy.

The study has been published in Cancer Letters.