Scientists have recently discovered a link between inflammation and depression. A new study finds that resveratrol – a natural anti-inflammatory agent found in the skin of red grapes can prevent inflammation as well as depression-related behaviors in rodents exposed to social stress.

“Our research is very relevant to today’s society because it investigates potential treatments for people with an increased susceptibility to depression and related disorders that arise due to social stress,” said Susan K. Wood, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and leader of the research team. “We hope our findings will encourage scientists who are running clinical trials to test the effectiveness of natural anti-inflammatory agents on depression, which is currently an understudied area.”

Wood said the group’s findings are exciting because they show that resveratrol has anti-inflammatory potential in the brain, not just on levels of inflammation circulating in the body. “Certainly, there is a strong case being built now between clinical and preclinical work that inflammation is linked to depressive symptoms, and there is a great need for these findings to be validated in human studies,” she said.

sciencedaily.com
March 30, 2015