Resveratrol: Effects on Lipids and Cardiovascular Risk

For several decades, there has been increasing interest in the possible use of resveratrol as a preventative agent in cardiovascular disease. Resveratrol exerts numerous effects on adipocyte, hepatocyte, and endothelial cell development and function. Many investigations have demonstrated the ability of resveratrol to regulate the adipocyte lifecycle, lipid synthesis, and improve hepatic lipid metabolism. Resveratrol has numerous vascular protective effects on endothelial tissue, including its antiplatelet activity. Resveratrol also reduces intracellular oxidative stress. Animal models of obesity and cardiovascular diseases have yielded important contributions to our understanding of the effects of resveratrol on the vasculature and the risk for pathology. In limited human studies, resveratrol reduces the release of proinflammatory cytokines and improves systemic glucose and insulin regulation and decreases cellular oxidative stress. Therefore, resveratrol has significant potential as both a prophylactic and treatment agent. However additional studies are required to more completely characterize its impacts on human physiology and its benefits in the setting of disease.