Clinical intervention studies with resveratrol: a review

This review walks through the three clinical arcs that shaped how resveratrol is now used in research. First, a 52-week phase II trial in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's (n=119) escalating from 500 mg per dag to 1,000 mg twice per dag found the molecule was safe and well tolerated, reduced Aβ40 and MMP9 in cerebrospinal fluid, and modulated neuroinflammation. Second, a substudy of PREDIMED (n=1,000, type-2 diabetics or high-cardiovascular-risk adults) showed higher urinary resveratrol metabolites correlated with lower fasting glucose and triglycerides. Third, a crossover RCT of 45 overweight adults on 150 mg per dag for four weeks found no effect on cardiovascular risk markers, endothelial function, or inflammation. Same molecule, three different populations and dose ranges, three different signals. The pattern favors metabolic and neurological subgroups over healthy adults.

Effects of resveratrol in human trials are heterogeneous and appear to depend strongly on dose and baseline population.