American and Norwegian researchers noticed that bees reduced their food intake when they were fed with resveratrol, a substance found in the skin of dark grape varieties, and lived 38% longer.
Brenda Raskon, a doctoral candidate, associate professor at Arizona University and Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and her colleagues tested the effects of resveratrol on life expectancy, learning ability, and food intake in honey bees.
The results of a study recently published in the journal Aging confirmed that this substance not only extends the life expectancy of honey bees by 33-38%, but also changes the attitude of bees to food, causing a “moderation effect” during eating.
The research team found that bees receiving resveratrol were less sensitive to sugar. Scientists used a solution of sugar of various concentrations - from very dilute to very strong concentrations - and found that the bees that received resveratrol did not want to eat a solution of a strong concentration.
In the final experiment, the researchers measured how much food the bees would consume if given the opportunity to eat as much as they like.
"The bees were allowed to eat as much as they wanted. It turned out that they did not attack the food, which, as we know, they adore. It is possible that resveratrol triggers a calorie restriction mechanism that extends the lifespan of various organisms," statement.
Resveratrol also contains peanuts, cocoa, pine bark, berries and some other foods.
