Stephen Pandol, MD (grandson of the company’s founders), grew up on a farm in Delano, California, tending to grapes and other crops in the San Joaquin Valley.  A strong appreciation for the role of food in our overall health led him to a career in medicine and biomedical research and specifically to the field of gastroenterology.  Currently, Dr. Pandol is Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His current research is focused on how dietary factors promote normal function and prevent cancer, metabolic and inflammatory disorders. 

• Q. We’re reading more and more about the potential health benefits of resveratrol, which is naturally abundant in grape skins. What exactly is resveratrol?

A. In nature, plants are susceptible to a variety of pathogens. Sources of these threats include attacking insects, invasive fungi and hostile bacteria. In response, some plants produce what are known as phytoalexins, which are antibiotics produced by the plant’s own defense mechanisms.  Resveratrol is a key phytoalexin, and some of its highest natural concentrations are found in the skins of grapes. In the human body, resveratrol serves as a phytonutrient antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent and has the potential to positively impact a variety of health functions.

• Q. How much do we know about the potential health benefits of resveratrol?

A. Resveratrol first attracted broad attention in the 1990s, when good heart health despite high-fat diets among the French population was initially observed.  Ultimately, research suggested that the resveratrol present in grape skins used to make wine plays a crucial role in protecting the heart.  This led to human studies that have further shown that eating a variety of grapes may help support a healthy heart by improving blood flow, arterial flexibility and blood vessel function.  Grape components may also help prevent platelet aggregation, which can lead to clot formation.  Grapes also promote healthy arteries by helping prevent the oxidation of bad “LDL” cholesterol, which is a key contributor to the build-up of plaque in the arteries.  

• Q. What's on the horizon for resveratrol research?

A. Good science takes time, but already a mounting foundation of scientific evidence indicates resveratrol may also offer potential anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-viral and other proactive qualities.  A report by scientific teams headed by Howitz and Sinclair in the leading scientific magazine Nature presented provocative findings that resveratrol significantly extends the lifespan of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This work has now been extended to other animals. Also, Sinclair reported more recently that resveratrol prevents the effect of a high-fat diet on mortality in mice. These findings have led to significant interest in the scientific community in determining the underlying molecular mechanisms accounting for these effects of resveratrol. The work will most certainly lead to better information about how dietary constituents promote health and will ultimately lead innovations using the food we eat as the primary preventive medicine strategy.