I am always astonished by how many breakthroughs in biological understanding come from investigating natural or organic sources. Many natural and organic skin care products utilise the fact that some properties found in plants, trees and other natural organisms, are beneficial to the spontaneous operations of the skin. Oils derived from seeds, for example, are often high in Vitamin E, which is great for maintaining healthy skin. Other plants have, almost by chance it seems, been found to have healing properties that synthesised ingredients would still find difficult to emulate. Calendula flowers, sometimes confusingly called Marigold even though they are totally different to the garden plant, have been used since the American Civil War to aid the body healing wounds. To the delight, I’m sure, of wine enthusiasts everywhere, it has recently been discovered that a certain compound found in the skin of grapes and in red wine may offer up a drug to help battle pancreatic cancer cells. Resveratol is produced naturally in raspberries, blueberries, red grapes and peanuts, but it is found in greatest concentration in red grapes and in the wine that it is produced from them. The compound has been found, in lab experiments, to kill certain cancer cells, and in combination with chemotherapy it inhibited those cancer-cell proteins that operate by pushing the drugs out of the cancer cells. The compounds also interfered with the mitochondria of the cancer cells. Mitochondria are responsible for generating a supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP),the compound which powers the cells. In the context of a cancer cell, any compound that can disrupt them is doing a good job. It is not yet certain whether drinking red wine causes the resveratol to operate in the same way. In the laboratory experiments high doses of resveratrol were used, around about 50 micrograms per millilitre. The concentration of resveratrol varies from wine to wine because some types of red grape skin contain more than others (also, in muscadine grapes high levels of resveratrol are concentrated in the seeds) , but levels have still be found as high as 30 micrograms per millilitre. Resveratrol is a naturally occurring compound that has evolved from plants needing to defend themselves against pathogens such as bacteria and funghi. In addition to the recent, exciting findings that show it can affect cancer cells, it has also been found to have anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering qualities, all of which can lead to healthy cardiovascular performance. As another example of the amazing power contained within the natural world take witch hazel. Witch hazel distillate is found in some natural and organic skincare products, and is another plant that has anti-inflammatory properties.