Abstract
Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound found in several plants. In the last decades, the interest in this compound has enormously increased after benefits on metabolism and increased lifespan of various organisms have been reported with its supplementation. Several in-vitro and animal studies have observed that resveratrol can act on multiple molecular targets, including sirtuins, a class of NAD + -dependent deacetylases. Despite the enthusiastic results reported in many animal- and in-vitro studies, few trials have been performed in humans with contrasting results. These conflicting data may be due at least in part to differences in the characteristics of the patients enrolled, the dosages and the duration of supplementation. Furthermore, many questions remain still unsolved, such as the dose or the duration of treatment to maximize its effects, the bioavailability of resveratrol and the role of food matrix to improve its bioactivity.In conclusion, at present the use of resveratrol as a supplement is not yet justified by the existing evidence.
Highlights
A milestone in resveratrol research came in the early 2000s when some authors reported that resveratrol is able to mimic caloric restriction effects and increased yeast, worms, flies and rodents lifespan [5,6]
This effect was ascribed to the resveratrol ability to activate sirtuin proteins, NAD +-dependent de-acetylase involved in the regulation of metabolism, apoptosis, mitochondrial biogenesis, inflammation, fatty acid metabolism, and glucose homeostasis [7,8,9,10]
A recent meta-analysis of 11 human clinical trials, investigating the effects of resveratrol on the metabolic pattern of type 2 diabetic patients, points out a beneficial effect of resveratrol consumption on fasting glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin values, and insulin resistance measured by the homeostatic model assessment [51]
Summary
The phytoalexin resveratrol (3,5,4’-trihydroxystilbene), a non-flavonoids polyphenolic compound found in many plants such as grapes, and in red wine was first discovered in 1940 [1,2]. Resveratrol owes its fame to the so-called “French Paradox”. The French scientist Renaud attributed this paradox to the increased consumption of red wine [3] and, later, the high resveratrol content of wine has been identified as one of the potential mechanisms of the benefits of red wine [4]. Research has thereafter shifted from human to animal models and the number of studies on resveratrol has increased extraordinarily since 1997, when its anti-cancer properties have been reported [4].
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