Resveratrol, Metabolic Syndrome, and Gut Microbiota

Resveratrol is a polyphenol which has been shown to have beneficial effects on metabolic syndrome-related alterations in experimental animals, including glucose and lipid homeostasis improvement and a reduction in fat mass, blood pressure, low-grade inflammation, and oxidative stress. Clinical trials have been carried out to address its potential; however, results are still inconclusive. Even though resveratrol is partly metabolized by gut microbiota, the relevance of this "forgotten organ" had not been widely considered. However, in the past few years, data has emerged suggesting that the therapeutic potential of this compound may be due to its interaction with gut microbiota, reporting changes in bacterial composition associated with beneficial metabolic outcomes. Even though data is still scarce and for the most part observational, it is promising nevertheless, suggesting that resveratrol supplementation could be a useful tool for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and its associated conditions.