Resveratrol Restricts Cardiac Fibrosis – Hardening Of Arteries
According to animal research, Resveratrol, the antioxidant found in red wine, can help promote heart health by limiting the effects of cardiac fibrosis, a hardening of the heart tissue.
This, in addition to Resveratrol’s ability to help prevent blood clots and also possibly reducing cholesterol, increases its viability as a heart health supplement.
University scientists have recently reported that treating rat heart cells called fibroblasts with Resveratrol prevented the actions of a potent hormone called angiotensin II, which is produced at high levels during hypertension as the body tries to repair hearth damage.
This hormone can also cause cardiac fibroblast production to go into overdrive, and, as a result, these cells produce excessive amounts of collagen which can lead to a stiffening of the heart muscle, requiring the organ to work harder to pump blood, doing damage to the myocardium.
The researchers pretreated rats with Resveratrol prior to adding angiotensin II to their cells. The Resveratrol treatment inhibited angiotensin II’s ability to cause growth and proliferation of the cardiac fibroblasts.
This research shows the potential that Resveratrol may be an effective heart health treatment in mammals – namely humans – in addition to the many other benefits of this natural enzyme.
