Drink up and breathe easy - red wine gets new boost

LONDON - Red wine, already thought to be good for the heart, is also being hailed as a lung-saver.

A study has found that a compound in red wine could help fight chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

But scientists say there is probably not enough of the stuff in a glass for chronic sufferers to drink their way to good health.

The study found that the substance, resveratrol, which is found in the skin of red grapes, could reduce the amount of disease-causing chemicals in the lungs.

The illnesses, known collectively as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kill 2.9 million people a year worldwide, says the World Health Organisation.

Smokers are 10 times more likely than non-smokers to die of COPD.

"It seems that drinking red wine in moderation as part of a healthy, balanced diet can reduce lung inflammation," said Dr John Harvey, chairman of the communications committee of the British Thoracic Society.

Resveratrol is thought to be one of the reasons people in wine-drinking countries such as France have low rates of heart disease..

Dr Louise Donnelly, one of the report's authors, said her team wanted to test whether those benefits could extend to lung disease.

The research has been published in the international medical journal Thorax.

In the study, lung fluid samples were taken from 15 smokers and 15 COPD patients.

When resveratrol was added to the samples, it cut production of interleukin 8, a chemical that causes inflammation of the lungs by 94 per cent in smokers and by 88 per cent in COPD patients.

COPD is now commonly treated with steroids, but resveratrol might prove more effective, Dr Donnelly said.

It would not reverse lung damage, but could help stop it getting worse.

Although there was probably not enough resveratrol in a wine glass for casual drinking to stop chronic lung disease, the substance could be administered directly with an inhaler, she said.

- REUTERS