“Undeveloped” women’s health to spur NPD as Evolva-backed RESHAW investigation concludes

24 Sep 2020 --- Evolva has uncovered a “clear association” between resveratrol and healthy aging, following the conclusion of a four-part investigation led by the University of Newcastle, Australia, into the effects of resveratrol on postmenopausal women. The company expects the results will trigger NPD for women’s health over the next two years.

The final study in a two-year clinical trial series called Resveratrol Supporting Healthy Aging in Women (RESHAW) revealed the reduction of pain perception and menopausal symptoms in older women who took daily Veri-te resveratrol supplementation.

NutritionInsight speaks with Clare Panchoo, vice president of health ingredients at Evolva, about investing in research to facilitate new products in a “still undeveloped” women’s health sector.

Investing in research for future product development
In general, companies choose short-term studies due to costs and the immediate need for results, Panchoo notes.

Veri-te is also available in food and beverage delivery formats.

“However, it is widely discussed and known that there is an increasing need in the nutrition field for well-designed studies to substantiate the health benefits of several compounds, including resveratrol.”

A significant part of the study costs was funded by the Australian government. Evolva’s goal of financially co-sponsoring the RESHAW study was also to strengthen the science around resveratrol.

Filling the gap in the literature
Over 200 clinical studies researching resveratrol have elaborated in detail on the benefits of resveratrol on bone health, cognitive and cardiovascular health.

“However, it is only after the RESHAW study that we have clear evidence that daily resveratrol supplementation – at low doses – leads to significant benefits to postmenopausal women,” Panchoo explains.

Before RESHAW, short-term studies reported benefits, with “sometimes conflicting results” due to a lower number of participants, duration and even doses, she adds.

In the RESHAW study, a research team led by Professor Howe, Dr. Rachel Wong and Ph.D. candidate Jay Jay Thaung Zaw at the University of Newcastle in Australia had 125 healthy postmenopausal women aged 45 to 85 years take 75 mg of Veri-te daily.

Veri-te resveratrol is Evolva’s patented ingredient suitable for food, beverage, capsule and cosmetic applications. Besides red wine, resveratrol is a natural phytoalexin compound, found in red grape skin, Japanese knotweed, peanuts and blueberries.

The study participants also completed six questionnaires that assessed their perceptions on general well-being, including pain, mood and depressive symptoms, menopausal symptoms, sleep quality and quality of life measured at the baseline, 12- and 24-month intervals.The study had 125 postmenopausal women take 75 mg of Veri-te for two years.

Results revealed
The final study yielded positive results of reduced composite pain score, especially in overweight individuals. This was associated with improvements in cerebrovascular responsiveness to hypercapnia. Somatic menopausal symptoms and general well-being were also improved after resveratrol supplementation.

The first study showed that daily Veri-te supplementation can improve cognitive performance and reduce cerebrovascular responsiveness decline. Meanwhile, the second and third results found it can help improve bone formation and cognition, respectively.

“What’s really powerful about the RESHAW results is that 88 percent of the women stated that they would be likely to continue with resveratrol supplementation after the conclusion of the study.”

“The RESHAW exit survey details that more than half the women in the study reported that their perceived memory, mood and other aspects of living were improved with the supplementation,” Panchoo maintains.

NutritionInsight previously spoke with Panchoo about the health benefits of resveratrol in the growing immunity sector in a video interview.

By Anni Schleicher

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