John Pezzuto, PhD, DSc, WNE's dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, features on NPR’s nationally syndicated program The Academic Minute as of August 25. Pezzuto led this week’s lineup, which also included researchers from Harvard Medical School, Purdue University, and Virginia Tech.
The Academic Minute spotlights leading scholars from across the country as they share groundbreaking research and insights in their fields. In his segment, Pezzuto discussed the science behind the dietary superfood grapes and the importance of understanding their role in human health.
This recognition comes as Pezzuto has also just published a perspective article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry titled “Are Grapes Worthy of the Moniker Superfood?” In the article, he argues that grapes deserve a prominent place in the superfood family, not because of marketing hype, but due to decades of scientific evidence. Research has shown that grapes, when consumed as a whole food, can positively modulate the gut microbiome, influence gene expression, and contribute to benefits for brain, heart, skin, and metabolic health.
“Based on actual scientific data, grapes have earned what should be a prominent position in the superfood family,” Pezzuto writes in his article. He notes that unlike many foods labeled as “superfoods” on the internet without regulatory criteria, grapes have been validated in more than 60 peer-reviewed studies and over 30 clinical trials.
Pezzuto is an author of over 600 publications, including the first report describing the cancer preventive activity of resveratrol, a component of grapes and grape products such as red wine. This single manuscript has been cited over 5,000 times, and resveratrol is now in numerous clinical trials and the subject of over 20,000 manuscripts.
His national recognition on NPR and his latest publication underscore WNE’s impact in advancing health sciences research and highlight the University’s growing reputation for faculty scholarship with global implications.
To listen to the broadcast, visit The Academic Minute. To read Pezzuto’s full article, visit the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c05738.
