Calorie restriction-like effects of 30 days of resveratrol supplementation on energy metabolism and metabolic profile in obese humans

Timmers S, Konings E, Bilet L, Houtkooper RH, van de Weijer T, Goossens GH · Cell Metabolism

The trial that made the calorie-restriction-mimetic case in humans: resveratrol lowered sleeping and resting metabolic rate, activated AMPK, raised muscle SIRT1 and PGC-1alpha protein and citrate synthase activity without changing mitochondrial content, and improved muscle mitochondrial respiration on a fatty-acid substrate. Liver fat, circulating glucose, triglycerides, ALT, inflammatory markers, systolic pressure (about 5 mmHg) and HOMA index all fell, as did postprandial adipose lipolysis and plasma fatty acids. Lipid inside the muscle cells rose.

Population

Healthy obese men

Intervention

Resveratrol 150 mg/day for 30 days, crossover

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

Eleven men, 30 days, one centre. The breadth of positive findings in so small a crossover is itself a caution, and the larger independent trials that followed did not reproduce them. Mitochondrial density did not change on any measure, so the mitochondrial claim rests on an activity marker and on respiration rather than on more mitochondria. Funded by a public-private food-industry partnership, with both the resveratrol and the placebo capsules supplied by the ingredient manufacturer, which also ran the resveratrol assays and has an author among the affiliations.