Fountain of youth seen in red wine

A compound found in red wine may add years to your life, according to a research study released Wednesday.

The head scientist in the study, David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues say resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, led to an increased life span when tested on fruit flies and worms.

“What we’ve achieved now has been dreamed about for 70 years,” Mr. Sinclair said.

Published in the journal Nature, the study says the compound had the same effect as sharply restricting caloric intake, a method discovered in the early 20th century to extend life in animals.

Eating fewer calories may lead to a longer life, but it also has serious downfalls. It often can lead to decreased energy and infertility in animals such as monkeys.

“Nobody has ever been able to extend life span without any side effects,” Mr. Sinclair said.

The fruit flies tested with resveratrol, however, were active and produced more fertile eggs per day. The flies also could eat as much as they wanted and still lived longer lives.

Mr. Sinclair said the amount of resveratrol in red wine is not strong enough to significantly increase the life spans of humans. Along with colleagues from the University of Connecticut and Brown University, he is developing a compound with “resveratrollike properties” that they expect to be strong enough to make a difference for humans.

Although it has yet to be tested in humans, Mr. Sinclair projects that it could increase life expectancy by 30 percent and people could potentially live to be 130 or 140 years old.

Found in many living creatures, including humans, molecules called Sir2-like proteins, or sirtuins, are involved in the anti-aging effects of restricting calories. Mr. Sinclair and his colleagues “looked through thousands of molecules” to find one that would activate the sirtuin protein.

Researchers found what they were looking for in resveratrol, which is found in red wine and known to promote better health. Last year, they discovered that the compound extended the life of yeast.

“It’s remarkable that the molecule works in such a vast group of animals from yeast to humans,” Mr. Sinclair said.

After the positive results with the fruit flies and worms, the Harvard assistant professor of pathology hopes to perform a human study within the next five years.

“If yeast is a one and humans are a 10, then flies are a nine,” Mr. Sinclair said. “We want to move this very quickly.”

He is now testing the compound in mice. Because mice are biologically closer to humans than fruit flies, this research should yield a clearer idea of how the compound would effect people. He said initial results are promising.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sinclair offers some healthy advice.

“I’m like most docs,” he said. “I say have one glass a day, but clearly I don’t want people to overdo it.”