Pterostilbene is a compound found naturally in blueberries. PTEROSTILBENE also serves a defensive phytoalexin role. A preliminary study recommends that pterostilbene may decrease inflammation and allow antioxidant goods.
THE STORY BEHIND PTEROSTILBENE
This potent polyphenol is promising in scientific research because of its molecular structure and bioavailability. But it might be able to do more than we even know. In 2003, researchers gave red wine drinkers everywhere a reason to raise a glass when they announced that resveratrol a natural chemical found in, among other things, grape skins might have benefits.
Resveratrol, they found, impacted yeast in unique ways. Plus, it seemed to induce gene expression changes that gave them a reason to believe the compound might be beneficial to humans. But 15 years and thousands of scientific studies later, and resveratrol hasn’t lived up to its initial promise. The trouble is, it disappears from the body in roughly 15 minutes meaning, in scientific terms, it isn’t very bioavailable.
So, researchers have pinned their hopes on a new rising star called pterostilbene (pronounced tear-oh-STILL-bean), which is very similar to resveratrol but with one tiny but crucial structural difference: It has just one hydroxyl group, compared to resveratrol’s three. Hydroxyl groups facilitate metabolization (the way to get rid of the molecule) by the body.
Fewer hydroxyl groups make it harder for the body to eliminate the molecule — no bad thing when the molecule has benefits. The result is that pterostilbene’s somewhat unusual molecular composition enables it to traverse cell membranes more efficiently and stretch out in the body higher than resveratrol. One good thing: Pretty much everything you would know about resveratrol is true for pterostilbene.
OCCURENCE OF PTEROSTILBENE:
Pterostilbene is discovered in almonds, several Vaccinium and blueberries, grape leaves, and vines.
WORKING MECHANISM OF PTEROSTILBENE:
Pterostilbene is a polyphenol, a kind of fragment that happens in plants, especially small berries, and nuts. What’s a polyphenol? “Phenol” refers to a certain chemical structure (in this case, a hydroxyl group linked to a benzene ring); “poly” just means the molecules have more than one of the structures.
One of the polyphenols’ main jobs is to help the plant fight off pathogens. When eaten by humans, polyphenols may serve as powerful antioxidants. Scientists have been aware of phenols since the early 19th century — Joseph Lister, the pioneer of antiseptic surgery, reported on one phenol’s disinfectant properties in 1867 — though the term “polyphenol” didn’t have its first recorded use until 1894.
Dr. Jose M. Estrela, a savant of physiology at the University of Valencia (Spain) who has read pterostilbene states that the great thing is that pterostilbene operates, but the sad thing is that we cannot fully describe its possible health advantages with the knowledge that we have.
SUMMARY:
Pterostilbene’s connection to sirtuins is just one of the reasons scientists are so excited by the compound. If you want to know more information, you can check here.
