title: Metabolic effects of resveratrol: addressing the controversies.
abstract: Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in a number of plant-based foods such as red wine, has received a great deal of attention for its diverse array of healthful effects. Beneficial effects of resveratrol are diverse; they include improvement of mitochondrial function, protection against obesity and obesity-related diseases such as type-2 diabetes, suppression of inflammation and cancer cell growth and protection against cardiovascular dysfunction, just to name a few. Investigations into the metabolic effects of resveratrol are furthest along and now include a number of clinical trials, which have yielded mixed results. There are a number of controversies surrounding resveratrol that have not been resolved. Here, we will review these controversies with particular emphasis on its mechanism of metabolic action and how lessons from resveratrol may help develop therapies that harness the effects of resveratrol but without the undesirable properties of resveratrol.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research, Genetics and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive Building 10 Room 7D14, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA, jacob.bitterman@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Jacob L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bitterman
authors.forename: Jay H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054703:Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 4 / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000187:drug effects; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000077185:Resveratrol; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D056564:Sirtuin 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D013267:Stilbenes / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D013267:Stilbenes; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D054703:Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 4; D056564:Sirtuin 1; D000077185:Resveratrol