Resveratrol May Preserve Pain-Relieving Effects of Morphine, Cathay General Hospital Study

Resveratrol—the same natural polyphenol found in red wine—preserves the potent pain-relieving effect of morphine in rats that have developed morphine tolerance, suggests a study in the October issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). If the findings are confirmed in humans, resveratrol might become a useful addition to clinical pain management approaches—especially in patients with chronic, severe pain who have become tolerant to the effects of morphine. The study was performed by Dr Chih-Shung Wong and colleagues of Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.