Grapes, soy, kudzu improve menopausal symptoms

August 13, 2007

The Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology conference sponsored by the American Physiological Society featured a presentation by J. Michael Wyss of the University of Alabama on his work entitled “The Role of Estrogens and Polyphenols in Hypertension and Diabetes.” As a part of his presentation, Dr Wyss discussed the ability of plant derived polyphenols from grapes, soy and kudzu to help treat postmenopausal memory loss, high blood pressure and diabetes. The conference was held August 9-12, 2007 in Austin, Texas.

A research team led by Dr Wyss, who is a physiologist with the Department of Cell Biology at University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that administration of grape polyphenols to laboratory animals was associated with a lower incidence of working and reference memory errors, indicating that both short-term and long-term memory were improved. They also tested their hypothesis that grapeseed derived polyphenols lower salt-sensitive hypertension by administering the compound to young rats whose estrogen levels were depleted by removal of their ovaries. The study found a reduction in arterial pressure in animals that received the polyphenols for ten weeks, which may be due to the compounds' antioxidant effect. This benefit was also found in similar research conducted by Dr Wyss using soy derived polyphenols.

In research utilizing the ubiquitous southeastern vine kudzu, rats placed on a high salt diet were protected from the rise in blood pressure that normally occurs by administration of the root. Polyphenols from kudzu also lower glucose, insulin and leptin in animal models.

“It is unlikely that these polyphenols could eventually provide effective stand-alone therapy for postmenopausal women," Dr Wyss stated, "But in the future they may provide effective adjunct therapy that complements the use of lower doses of traditional pharmaceutical compounds."

—D Dye

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