Resveratrol and vascular health

Diets rich in bioactive compounds, such as (poly)phenols, have been shown to potentially exert positive effects on vascular health. Among them, resveratrol has gained particular attention due to its potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Nevertheless, the results in humans are conflicting possibly due to interindividual different responses. The gut microbiota has been identified as potentially responsible for modulating the biological activities of phenolic metabolites in humans.A review summarises the main findings from clinical trials on the effects of resveratrol interventions on endothelial and vascular outcomes and reviews potential mechanisms in the role of gut microbiota on the metabolism of this molecule and its cardioprotective metabolites. The findings show contrasting results on the effects of resveratrol supplementation and vascular biomarkers without dose-dependent effect. In particular, studies in which resveratrol was integrated using food sources, i.e., red wine, reported significant effects although the resveratrol content was, on average, much lower compared to tablet supplementation, while other studies with often extreme resveratrol supplementation resulted in null findings. The results from experimental studies suggest that resveratrol exerts cardioprotective effects through the modulation of various antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hypertensive pathways, and microbiota composition. Recent studies on resveratrol-derived metabolites, such as piceatannol, have demonstrated its effects on biomarkers of vascular health. Moreover, resveratrol itself has been shown to improve the gut microbiota composition toward an anti-inflammatory profile.
Considering the contrasting findings from clinical studies, the review authors say that future research exploring the bidirectional link between resveratrol metabolism and gut microbiota as well as the mediating effect of gut microbiota in resveratrol effect on cardiovascular health is warranted.
Source: Godos J, Romano GL, Gozzo L,et al. Resveratrol and vascular health: evidence from clinical studies and mechanisms of actions related to its metabolites produced by gut microbiota. Front Pharmacol. 2024 Mar 18;15:1368949.