Resveratrol does not benefit patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Chachay VS, Macdonald GA, Martin JH, Whitehead JP, O'Moore-Sullivan TM, Lee P · Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

NULL, with a safety signal. Insulin resistance by clamp, hepatic steatosis and abdominal fat distribution were unchanged, as were plasma lipids and antioxidant activity. ALT and AST rose significantly in the resveratrol group relative to placebo through week 6, which the authors read as increased hepatic stress.

Population

Overweight or obese men with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Intervention

Resveratrol 3,000 mg/day for 8 weeks

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

Ten per arm — small. But the liver-enzyme rise at 3 g/day is one of the few consistent adverse findings in the human resveratrol literature and is echoed by the fructosamine and LDL signals at 1 g/day.