Supplement Ingredient Guide: Resveratrol

What is it?

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring plant polyphenol which is found in certain foods including grapes, peanuts and billberry. It is a potent antioxidant. Other health benefits include reduced blood pressure, protection against artherosclerosis, reduced insulin levels & sensitivity.

 

Indications

It is indicated for anyone looking for potent antioxidants to protect against damage from free radicals..

 

How much should I take?

Anything between 150-500mg daily depending on the reason for supplementing it.

 

Research

All the research on resveratrol is rather weak, most notably is it has been shown to reduce exercise-induced oxidation but also reduce adaptation to exercise, meaning that it prevents you from getting the benefits associated with prolonged excersie. Other benefits which have been noted include increase in cerebral blood flow, a decrease in insulin, glucose, triglycerides, metabolic rate, blood pressure whilst increasing insulin sensitivity. There is no evidence to back up the popular belief that resveratrol increases lifespan of mammals.

 

Side effects

Resveratrol appears to be safe and free of serious side effects when taken over a range of doses (500mg-5,000mg) over a short term period.

 

References

Barger JL, Kayo T, Vann JM, Arias EB, Wang J, Hacker TA, Wang Y, Raederstorff D, Morrow JD, Leeuwenburgh C, Allison DB, Saupe KW, Cartee GD, Weindruch R, Prolla TA. (2008) A low dose of dietary resveratrol partially mimics caloric restriction and retards aging parameters in mice. PLoS One. 2008 Jun 4;3(6):e2264.

Baur JA, Pearson KJ, Price NL, Jamieson HA, Lerin C, Kalra A, Prabhu VV, Allard JS, Lopez-Lluch G, Lewis K, Pistell PJ, Poosala S, Becker KG, Boss O, Gwinn D, Wang M, Ramaswamy S, Fishbein KW, Spencer RG, Lakatta EG, Le Couteur D, Shaw RJ, Navas P, Puigserver P, Ingram DK, de Cabo R, Sinclair DA.Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet.Nature. 2006 Nov 16;444(7117):337-42.

Bishayee A, Darvesh AS, Politis T, McGory R. (2010) Resveratrol and liver disease: from bench to bedside and community. Liver Int. 2010 Sep;30(8):1103-14.

Brown V A, Patel K R, Viskaduraki M, Crowell J A, Perloff M, Booth T D, Vasilinin G, Sen A, Schinas A M, Piccirilli G, Brown K, Steward W P, Gescher A J, and Brenner D E.(2010) Repeat Dose Study of the Cancer Chemopreventive Agent Resveratrol in Healthy Volunteers: Safety, Pharmacokinetics and Effect on the Insulin-like Growth Factor Axis. Cancer Res. 2010 November 15; 70(22): 9003–9011.

Dal-Pan A, Blanc S, Aujard F. (2010) Resveratrol suppresses body mass gain in a seasonal non-human primate model of obesity. BMC Physiol. 2010 Jun 22;10:11.

Foti Cuzzola V, Ciurleo R, Giacoppo S, Marino S, Bramanti P. (2011) Role of Resveratrol and its Analogues in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Focus on Recent Discoveries.CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 2011 Nov 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Gerhardt E, Gräber S, Szego EM, Moisoi N, Martins LM, Outeiro TF, Kermer P. (2011) Idebenone and resveratrol extend lifespan and improve motor function of HtrA2 knockout mice. PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e28855. Epub 2011 Dec 19.

Harper CE, Cook LM, Patel BB, Wang J, Eltoum IA, Arabshahi A, Shirai T, Lamartiniere CA. (2009) Genistein and resveratrol, alone and in combination, suppress prostate cancer in SV-40 tag rats.Prostate. 2009 Nov 1;69(15):1668-82.

Hofseth LJ, Singh UP, Singh NP, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti PS. (2010) Taming the beast within: resveratrol suppresses colitis and prevents colon cancer.Aging (Albany NY). 2010 Apr;2(4):183-4.

Jang M, Cai L, Udeani GO, Slowing KV, Thomas CF, Beecher CW, Fong HH, Farnsworth NR, Kinghorn AD, Mehta RG, Moon RC, Pezzuto JM. (1997) Cancer chemopreventive activity of resveratrol, a natural product derived from grapes.Science. 1997 Jan 10;275(5297):218-20.

Kim D, Nguyen MD, Dobbin MM, Fischer A, Sananbenesi F, Rodgers JT, Delalle I, Baur JA, Sui G, Armour SM, Puigserver P, Sinclair DA, Tsai LH. (2007) SIRT1 deacetylase protects against neurodegeneration in models for Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.EMBO J. 2007 Jul 11;26(13):3169-79.

Lagouge M, Argmann C, Gerhart-Hines Z, Meziane H, Lerin C, Daussin F, Messadeq N, Milne J, Lambert P, Elliott P, Geny B, Laakso M, Puigserver P, Auwerx J. (2006) Resveratrol improves mitochondrial function and protects against metabolic disease by activating SIRT1 and PGC-1alpha. Cell. 2006 Dec 15;127(6):1109-22. Epub 2006 Nov 16.

Le Corre L, Chalabi N, Delort L, Bignon YJ, Bernard-Gallon DJ. (2005) Resveratrol and breast cancer chemoprevention: molecular mechanisms.Mol Nutr Food Res. 2005 May;49(5):462-71.

Li HF, Chen SA, Wu SN. Evidence for the stimulatory effect of resveratrol on Ca(2+)-activated K+ current in vascular endothelial cells. Cardiovasc Res. 2000;45:1035–45.

Maher P, Dargusch R, Bodai L, Gerard PE, Purcell JM, Marsh JL. (2010) ERK activation by the polyphenols fisetin and resveratrol provides neuroprotection in multiple models of Huntington’s disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2011 Jan 15;20(2):261-70. Epub 2010 Oct 15.

Nakayama H, Yaguchi T, Yoshiya S, Nishizaki T. (2010) Resveratrol induces apoptosis MH7A human rheumatoid arthritis synovial cells in a sirtuin 1-dependent manner. Rheumatol Int. 2010 Aug 10.

Oomen C A,Farkas F, Roman V, van der Beek E M, Luiten P G M and Meerlo1 P (2009) Resveratrol Preserves Cerebrovascular Density and Cognitive Function in Aging Mice. Front Aging Neurosci. 2009; 1: 4

Patel KR, Brown VA, Jones DJ, Britton RG, Hemingway D, Miller AS, West KP, Booth TD, Perloff M, Crowell JA, Brenner DE, Steward WP, Gescher AJ, Brown K. (2010) Clinical pharmacology of resveratrol and its metabolites in colorectal cancer patients. Cancer Res. 2010 Oct 1;70(19):7392-9.

Pirola L, Fröjdö S. (2008) Resveratrol: one molecule, many targets.IUBMB Life. 2008 May;60(5):323-32.

Rayalam S, Della-Fera MA, Baile CA. (2011) Synergism between resveratrol and other phytochemicals: implications for obesity and osteoporosis. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2011 Aug;55(8):1177-85.

Rivera L, Moron R, Zarzuelo A, Galisteo M. Long-term resveratrol administration reduces metabolic disturbances and lowers blood pressure in obese Zucker rats. Biochem Pharmacol. 2009;77:1053–1063.

Roy P, Kalra N, Prasad S, George J, Shukla Y. Chemopreventive Potential of Resveratrol in Mouse Skin Tumors Through Regulation of Mitochondrial and PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathways. Pharm Res. 2009;26:211–217.

Shen MY, Hsiao G, Liu CL, et al. Inhibitory mechanisms of resveratrol in platelet activation: pivotal roles of p38 MAPK and NO/cyclic GMP. Br J Haematol. 2007;139:475–85.

Shindler KS, Ventura E, Dutt M, Elliott P, Fitzgerald DC, Rostami A. (2010) Oral resveratrol reduces neuronal damage in a model of multiple sclerosis.J Neuroophthalmol. 2010 Dec;30(4):328-39.

Szewczuk LM, Forti L, Stivala LA, et al. Resveratrol is a peroxidase-mediated inactivator of COX-1 but not COX-2: a mechanistic approach to the design of COX-1 selective agents. J Biol Chem. 2004;279:22727–37

Szkudelska K, Szkudelski T. (2010) Resveratrol, obesity and diabetes.Eur J Pharmacol. 2010 Jun 10;635(1-3):1-8.

Tili E, and Michaille J-J. (2011) Resveratrol, MicroRNAs, Inflammation, and Cancer.J Nucleic Acids. 2011; 2011: 102431.

Timmers S, Konings E, Bilet L, Houtkooper RH, van de Weijer T, Goossens GH, Hoeks J, van der Krieken S, Ryu D, Kersten S, Moonen-Kornips E, Hesselink MK, Kunz I, Schrauwen-Hinderling VB, Blaak EE, Auwerx J, Schrauwen P. (2011) Calorie Restriction-like Effects of 30 Days of Resveratrol Supplementation on Energy Metabolism and Metabolic Profile in Obese Humans.Cell Metab. 2011 Nov 2;14(5):612-22.

Vang O,Ahmad N, Baile C A, BaurJ A, Brown K, Csiszar A, Das D K, Delmas D, Gottfried C, Lin H-Y, Ma Q-Y, Mukhopadhyay P, Nalini N, Pezzuto J. M, Richard T, YShukla, Surh Y-J, Szekeres T, Szkudelski T, Walle T, Wu J. M. (2011) What Is New for an Old Molecule? Systematic Review and Recommendations on the Use of Resveratrol. PLoS One. 2011; 6(6): e19881.

Verschuren L, Wielinga PY, van Duyvenvoorde W, Tijani S, Toet K, van Ommen B, Kooistra T, Kleemann R. (2011) A dietary mixture containing fish oil, resveratrol, lycopene, catechins, and vitamins E and C reduces atherosclerosis in transgenic mice.J Nutr. 2011 May;141(5):863-9. 

Zhang F, Shi JS, Zhou H, Wilson B, Hong JS, Gao HM. (2010) Resveratrol protects dopamine neurons against lipopolysaccharide-induced neurotoxicity through its anti-inflammatory actions. Mol Pharmacol. 2010 Sep;78(3):466-77. Epub 2010 Jun 16.

Zhong LM, Zong Y, Sun L, Guo JZ, Zhang W, He Y, Song R, Wang WM, Xiao CJ, Lu D. (2012) Resveratrol Inhibits Inflammatory Responses via the Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Signaling Pathway in Cultured LPS-Stimulated Microglial Cells. PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e32195. Epub 2012 Feb 21.