RESVERATROL SHOWS PROMISE AS HRT ALTERNATIVE
A new study has established that resveratrol is the best phytoestrogen alternative to hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women. Phytoestrogens are natural plant substances found in food that exert weak estrogen-like activity, such as daidzein, genistein and glycitein found in soybeans and soy products, coumestrol in mung bean and alfalfa sprouts and resveratrol in grape skins and red wine. Because the effects of phytoestrogens on cancer prevention are controversial, the aim of this study was to assess the estrogen-like effects and antitumour activity of individual dietary phytoestrogens by analysing their effects on tumour cell growth, cell cycle and apoptosis (programmed cell death). The researchers found that while genistein, resveratrol and glycitein all increased apoptosis and reduced the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, resveratrol reduced this ratio more than either genistein or glycitein, They concluded that "Because resveratrol stimulated the transcription of endogenous estrogen receptor (ER) and proapoptotic effects, this phytoestrogen is the most promising candidate as an HRT alternative and chemopreventive reagent for breast cancer." The authors said that further research is needed to understand the mechanism by which resveratrol represses cell growth. The study findings were published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.