Scientists have found clues that resveratrol, a minor ingredient of red wine can increase life span. The ingredient has shown to be effective on laboratory mice.

The scientists at Harvard Medical School, believe that the integrity of chromosomes is changed due to aging. Resveratrol activates a protein known as sirtuin that restores the chromosomes to health.

The study, published in the journal Cell, shows that DNA damage a breakdown in the cell’s ability to understand which genes are switched on and which are switched off. This plays a critical role in aging.

It has also been shown that resveratrol, provides heart benefits, preventing cardiovascular diseases, reducing heart inflammation, enabling stronger bones and preventing eye cataracts. It activates more than 1,000 genes affecting the heart. The function of these genes changes as a person ages but the resveratrol helps the genes work the same way they do in a younger heart.

Researchers are discovering how these agents work and how they could develop drugs to enhance resistance to disease and to retard aging.