Benefits of Resveratrol

Alzheimer’s Disease​

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Resveratrol supplements were shown to:

• Stabilize a biomarkers indicating Alzheimer’s disease progression (i.e., Abeta40, which decreases as dementia worsens and Alzheimer’s disease progresses.  In patients taking resveratrol, Abeta40 stabilized)

• Reduce brain inflammation.

• Stabilize the blood brain barrier (why is this important),

• Be safe and well tolerated. [1], [2], [3]

 

Improved Brain Function 

Resveratrol supplements were shown to:

• Improve cognitive function in post-menopausal women. [4], [5]

• Increase brain blood-flow in healthy adults during task performance and also in patients with type 2 diabetes. [6], [7]

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Depression & Stress 

Resveratrol supplements were shown to:

• Decrease the expression of stress related enzyme phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) in a dose dependent manner. [8]

• Inhibit the expression of depression related enzyme MAO-A (which removes  neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine from the brain).

• Increase the expression of serotonin and noradrenaline levels in the brain.  For their parts, low serotonin levels can create feelings of sadness, depression, hopelessness, irritability, and anxiety and low noradrenaline levels can increase anxiety and blood pressure. [9]

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Diabetes

Resveratrol supplements were shown to:

• Improve insulin sensitivity and reduce oxidative stress in Type II diabetic patients.[10], [11], [12]

• Improve insulin resistance.  [13]

• Reduce arterial stiffness in Type II diabetic patients. [14]

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Heart & Circulation

Resveratrol supplements were shown to:​

• Improve flow mediated dilation and endothelial function in healthy obese adults, adults with mildly elevated blood pressure, and adults with metabolic syndrome. [15], [16], [17]

• Inhibit blood platelet aggregation (which helps prevent dangerous blood clots). [18]

• Help prevent atherosclerosis (disease characterized by deposits of plaque on the artery inner walls). [19]

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Cancer

Resveratrol supplements were shown to:

• Potentially decrease the risk of colon cancer development in low doses (resveratrol containing grape powder) and increase the death of cancer cells vs. placebo in patients with colon cancer in high doses (5g resveratrol/day)

• Significantly reduce (at 2.5 g resveratrol/day) IGF1 and IGFBP3 levels in plasma, which indicates that resveratrol is a chemopreventative agent in humans.

• Increased the activity/protein levels of numerous carcinogen-detoxifying enzymes (e.g., glutathione S-transferase and glucuronosyltransferase). [20], [21]

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Sources:

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[1] Turner RS, Thomas RG, Craft S, Van Dyck et. al.  A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of resveratrol for Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2015 Oct 20;85(16):1383-91. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002035. Epub 2015 Sep 11.

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[2] Sawda C, Moussa C, Turner RS.   Resveratrol for Alzheimer's disease.  Ann NY Acad Sci. 2017 Sep;1403(1):142-149. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13431. Epub 2017 Aug 16. Review.

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[3] Moussa C, Hebron M, Huang X, Ahn J, Rissman RA, Aisen PS, Turner RS. Resveratrol regulates neuro-inflammation and induces adaptive immunity in Alzheimer's disease.  J Neuroinflammation. 2017 Jan 3;14(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s12974-016-0779-0.

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[4] Hamish M Evans, Peter R C Howe, Rachel H X Wong. Effects of Resveratrol on Cognitive Performance, Mood and Cerebrovascular Function in Post-Menopausal Women; A 14-Week Randomised Placebo-Controlled Intervention Trial. Nutrients. 2017 Jan 3;9(1):27. doi: 10.3390/nu9010027.PMID: 28054939 

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[5] Thaung Zaw JJ, Howe PRC, Wong RHX. Sustained Cerebrovascular and Cognitive Benefits of Resveratrol in Postmenopausal Women. Nutrients. 2020 Mar 20;12(3):828. doi: 10.3390/nu12030828. PMID: 32244933; PMCID: PMC7146200.

 

[6] Kennedy DO, Wightman EL, Reay JL, Lietz G, Okello EJ, Wilde A, Haskell CF. Effects of resveratrol on cerebral blood flow variables and cognitive performance in humans: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover investigation.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jun;91(6):1590-7. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28641. Epub 2010 Mar 31.

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[7] Wong RH, Nealon RS, Scholey A, Howe PR. Low dose resveratrol improves cerebrovascular function in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2016 May;26(5):393-9. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2016.03.003. Epub 2016 Mar 14

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[8] Zhu X, Li W, Li Y, Xu W, Yuan Y, Zheng V, Zhang H, O'Donnell JM, Xu Y, Yin X. The antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects of resveratrol: Involvement of phosphodiesterase-4D inhibition. Neuropharmacology. 2019 Jul 15;153:20-31. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.04.022. Epub 2019 Apr 24. PMID: 31026437.

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[9] Xu Y, Wang Z, You W, Zhang X, Li S, Barish PA, Vernon MM, Du X, Li G, Pan J, Ogle WO. Antidepressant-like effect of trans-resveratrol: Involvement of serotonin and noradrenaline system. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2010 Jun;20(6):405-13. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2010.02.013. Epub 2010 Mar 30. PMID: 20353885.

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[10] Liu K1, Zhou R1, Wang B1, Mi MT1. Effect of resveratrol on glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Jun;99(6):1510-9. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.082024. Epub 2014 Apr 2.

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[11] Brasnyó P, Molnár GA, Mohás M, Markó L, Laczy B, Cseh J, Mikolás E, Szijártó IA, Mérei A, Halmai R, Mészáros LG, Sümegi B, Wittmann I. Resveratrol improves insulin sensitivity, reduces oxidative stress and activates the Akt pathway in type 2 diabetic patients. Br J Nutr. 2011 Aug;106(3):383-9. doi: 10.1017/S0007114511000316. Epub 2011 Mar 9.

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[12] Crandall JP, Oram V, Trandafirescu G, Reid M, Kishore P, Hawkins M, Cohen HW, Barzilai N. Pilot study of resveratrol in older adults with impaired glucose tolerance. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2012 Dec;67(12):1307-12. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glr235. Epub 2012 Jan 4.

 

[13]  Gospin R, Sandu O, Gambina K, et al. RESVERATROL IMPROVES INSULIN RESISTANCE WITH ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND “BROWNING” EFFECTS IN ADIPOSE TISSUE OF OVERWEIGHT HUMANS, Journal of Investigative Medicine 2016;64:814-815

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[14] Imamura H, Yamaguchi T, Nagayama D, Saiki A, Shirai K, Tatsuno I. Resveratrol Ameliorates Arterial Stiffness Assessed by Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Int Heart J. 2017 Aug 3;58(4):577-583. doi: 10.1536/ihj.16-373. Epub 2017 Jul 13. PMID: 28701674.

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[15] Wong RH, Berry NM, Coates AM, Buckley JD, Bryan J, Kunz I, Howe PR. Chronic resveratrol consumption improves brachial flow-mediated dilatation in healthy obese adults. J Hypertens. 2013 Sep;31(9):1819-27. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0b013e328362b9d6. PMID: 23743811.

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[16] Wong RH, Howe PR, Buckley JD, Coates AM, Kunz I, Berry NM. Acute resveratrol supplementation improves flow-mediated dilatation in overweight/obese individuals with mildly elevated blood pressure. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011 Nov;21(11):851-6. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2010.03.003. Epub 2010 Jul 31.

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[17] Akbari M, Tamtaji OR, Lankarani KB, Tabrizi R, Dadgostar E, Kolahdooz F, Jamilian M, Mirzaei H, Asemi Z. The Effects of Resveratrol Supplementation on Endothelial Function and Blood Pressures Among Patients with Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2019 Aug;26(4):305-319. doi: 10.1007/s40292-019-00324-6. Epub 2019 Jul 1. PMID: 31264084.

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[18] Bonechi C, Lamponi S, Donati A, Tamasi G, Consumi M, Leone G, Rossi C, Magnani A. Effect of resveratrol on platelet aggregation by fibrinogen protection. Biophys Chem. 2017 Mar;222:41-48. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2016.12.004. Epub 2017 Jan 2. PMID: 28095333.

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[19] Toliopoulos IK, Simos YV, Oikonomidis S, Karkabounas SC. Resveratrol diminishes platelet aggregation and increases susceptibility of K562 tumor cells to natural killer cells. Indian J Biochem Biophys. 2013 Feb;50(1):14-8. PMID: 23617069.

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[20] Rauf A, Imran M, Suleria HAR, Ahmad B, Peters DG, Mubarak MS. A comprehensive review of the health perspectives of resveratrol. Food Funct. 2017 Dec 13;8(12):4284-4305. doi: 10.1039/c7fo01300k. PMID: 29044265.

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[21] Lindsay G Carter, John A D'Orazio, and Kevin J Pearson. Resveratrol and cancer: focus on in vivo evidence Endocr Relat Cancer. 2014 Jun; 21(3): R209–R225. Prepublished online 2014 Feb 5. doi: 10.1530/ERC-13-0171.

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