An ingredient found in some red wines may help extend the human lifespan, a new study says.

The study, which was published in Plos One, an online science journal, dosed mice with a low dose of resveratrol, which is found in the skins of some grapes, and said that the ingredient "may retard some aspects of aging."

Similar studies on the ingredient have been performed in the past with mice, including one study that turned regular mice into atheletic super-mice, by introducing resveratrol.

However, scientists were using doses that far exceeded the miniscule amount found in a typical glass of red wine. Some scientists have estimated that a person would have to drink 100 bottles a day to translate the results from mice to humans -- which may prove difficult for your average wine connoisseur.

A number of pharmaceutical companies are already researching the ingredient, hoping to have a capsule available for human consumption in the near future.

"I used to think it was probably a hundred years in the future that we'd see these anti-aging drugs come around," Dr. David Sinclair, a Harvard professor said. "But now I'm optimistic that we'll see these possibly in the next few years."

Analysts say that the first company to get the drug on the market could be in for windfall profits.

Sirtris, a company founded in 2004 to develop drugs similar to resveratrol, was sold this week for US$720 million.

With a report by CTV's Rob Brown