Resveratrol and Its Health Benefits

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring chemical found in the skin in red grapes and other fruits and nuts. Resveratrol is one member of a group of compounds called polyphenols. It is extracted largely from an Asian plant called Polygonim cuspidatum. Resveratrol gained notoriety as the substance possibly explaining why many French people who drank red wine had long lives despite a diet high in saturated fats, eg. from butter. 

This was debunked, however, since any benefit linked to resveratrol would require consuming many bottles of red wine per day, as the concentration of this substance in grapes is pretty low (and current medical opinion is that alcohol cunsumption is not healthy!). 

People take resveratrol for a variety of medical conditions, including high cholesterol, cancer, and heart disease. Polyphenols like resveratrol do have anti-oxidant properties that do potentially have benefits, but there is insufficient evidence to recommend resveratrol for these disorders, however. 

As with other polyphenols, there are studies pointing to the therapeutic benefits of resveratrol supplements. For example, resveratrol suppresses the “PI3K” pathway and therefore could have importance in treating those with Alzheimer’s disease. Its effects on this pathway and others may also confer therapeutic benefit in people with osteoarthritis, in which it has been shown to reduce inflammation, reduce cartilage degradation, and improve joint function. 

Preliminary data show that resveratrol may be therapeutic in a wide range of conditions including cardiovascular, neurologic, metabolic, and kidney disorder. Resveratrol, like other polyphenols, has shown some promise as an anti-aging supplement.

Resveratrol appears to be quite safe – it does not seem to have any significant side-effects. 

It falls into the category of supplements that “might help and probably won’t hurt,” so the decision to add it to your supplement regimen is a personal decision. 

Ongoing and future studies will likely yield instructional information about this fascinating substance.

For now, as most articles in the scientific literature conclude, “the potential of resveratrol in the treatment and prevention of various diseases warrants further investigation.”

Note: Although I am a physician, the content in this article is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent illness or disease in the reader – it is for educational purposes only.

References

• Jin S, Guan X, Min D. Evidence of clinical efficacy and pharmacologic mechanisms of resveratrol in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2023;20(8):588-602
• Singh K, Gupta JK, Kumar S. The pharmacologic potential of resveratrol in reducing soft tissue damage in osteoarthritis patients. Curr Rheumatol Rev. 2023 Sep 11.
• Zhou, D.D.; Luo, M.; Huang, S.Y.; Saimaiti, A.; Shang, A.; Gan, R.Y.; Li, H.B. Effects and mechanisms of resveratrol on aging and age-related diseases. Oxidative Med. Cell. Longev., 2021, 9932218.