Compound in fruit, nuts and wine may help boost exercise performance

Washington, June 20 (ANI): Resveratrol, a natural compound found in some fruits, nuts and red wine, may enhance exercise training and performance, suggests a new medical research from the University of Alberta.

Principal investigator Jason Dyck and his team found out in experiments that high doses of resveratrol improved physical performance, heart function and muscle strength in lab models.

"We were excited when we saw that resveratrol showed results similar to what you would see from extensive endurance exercise training," said Dyck, who works in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry as a researcher in the department of Pediatrics and the department of Pharmacology.

"We immediately saw the potential for this and thought that we identified 'improved exercise performance in a pill,'" he asserted.

Dyck and his team will soon begin testing resveratrol on diabetics with heart failure to see if the natural compound can improve heart function for this patient group. The 10-week study is expected to start within the next few months.

"I think resveratrol could help patient populations who want to exercise but are physically incapable. Resveratrol could mimic exercise for them or improve the benefits of the modest amount of exercise that they can do," said Dyck.

"It is very satisfying to progress from basic research in a lab to testing in people, in a short period of time," he added.

His team's findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology in late May. (ANI)