Researchers found that the polyphenol resveratrol, an antioxidant compound found in wine, red grapes and in high amounts in certain medicinal plants, stimulates the expression of adiponectin, a hormone released from fat cells that modulates a number of metabolic processes and plays an important role in the regulation of insulin sensitivity, fatty acid catabolism and energy. Adiponectin levels are inversely correlated with body fat percentage in adults (higher levels of adiponectin are correlated with lower percentages of body fat).
The recent study reports that resveratrol stimulates the expression of adiponectin in specialized fat cells through the activation of a protein known as disulfide bond-A oxidoreductase- like protein (DsbA-L).