The French paradox is an observation that showed that French people, although having a diet rich in saturated fats, appearing to have lower incidences of coronary heart diseases. This occurrence led to the many researches and studies done on the factor that was hypothesised to be related to the paradox. It was found that the high alcohol consumption in France was the factor to this paradox, therefore, resveratrol which is one of the compounds found in red wine, is extensively studied for its effects on the signalling pathways of the body. However, there are discrepancies as to whether the resveratrol found in the red wine is adequate to cause such effects, route of administration or due to other compounds in the wine.
1. INTRODUCTION …show more content…
Involvement in the French paradox
Research on resveratrol stems from the interest generated by the paradoxical event whereby French individuals have low incidences of CHD even though their diet was found to be high in saturated fats. This led to the hypothesis that the low incidences of CHD is due in part to their moderate consumption or intake of red wine.
CHD can begin developing due to factors such as lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in particular. High amounts of circulating LDLs can cause deposition in the tunica intima of the artery, causing it to be oxidised, and thus becoming oxidised-LDL (oxLDL) due to interaction with free radicals or Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). The accumulation of oxLDLs in the tunica intima then causes the endothelial cells to express adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). The monocytes can then migrate from the blood circulation and into the tunica intima, becoming macrophages. The macrophages then takes in the oxLDLs and become foam …show more content…
The elevated amounts of smooth muscle cells result in the increased synthesis of collagen and the apoptosis of the foam cells which will result in the dispersion of its contents into the surroundings, causes an increased in inflammatory in conjunction with the released pro-inflammatory cytokines. There will be a gradual increase in the size of the plaque and the subsequent thickening and hardening of it. Ruptures can also occur, releasing the contents of the plaque which can cause the formation of thrombus, leading to events such as heart attacks or myocardial infarction and stable and unstable angina.
Studies have shown that the involvement of resveratrol in the French paradox are due to its activities on various mechanisms of the human body which lowers CHD incidences. It produces such an effect through preconditioning, superoxide scavenging, lipid peroxidation, autophagy and inhibition of