EXERCISE

Older men (n = 12) and women (n = 18) 65-80 years of age completed 12 weeks of exercise and took either a placebo or resveratrol (500 mg/d) to test the hypothesis that resveratrol treatment combined with exercise would increase mitochondrial density, muscle fatigue resistance and cardiovascular function more than exercise alone. Contrary to our hypothesis, aerobic and resistance exercise coupled with resveratrol treatment did not reduce cardiovascular risk further than exercise alone. However, exercise added to resveratrol treatment improved the indices of mitochondrial density, and muscle fatigue resistance more than placebo and exercise treatments. In addition, subjects that were treated with resveratrol had an increase in knee extensor muscle peak torque (8%), average peak torque (14%) and power (14%) after training, whereas exercise did not increase these parameters in the placebo treated older subjects. Furthermore, exercise combined with resveratrol significantly improved mean fiber area and total myonuclei by 45.3% and 20%, respectively, in muscle fibers from the vastus lateralis of older subjects. Together, these data indicate a novel anabolic role of resveratrol in exercise-induced adaptations of older persons and this suggests that resveratrol combined with exercise might provide a better approach for reversing sarcopenia than exercise alone.