Resveratrol blunts the positive effects of exercise training on cardiovascular health in aged men.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial
PubMed 23878368 · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2013.258061
What was done
Twenty-seven healthy, physically inactive older men (mean age 65 ± 1 years; BMI 25.4 ± 0.7 kg/m²) were randomized to receive 8 weeks of daily 250 mg trans-resveratrol (n = 14) or placebo (n = 13) alongside high-intensity exercise training. Cardiovascular parameters, blood pressure, muscle vasoactive markers, lipid profiles, and Sirtuin 1 levels were evaluated.
What was found
Exercise training produced a 45% greater increase in maximal oxygen uptake in the placebo group than in the resveratrol group (P < 0.05). Mean arterial pressure decreased in the placebo group (-4.8 ± 1.7 mmHg; P < 0.05) but not in the resveratrol group. Post-training interstitial prostacyclin was lower (980 ± 90 vs. 1174 ± 121 pg/ml; P < 0.02) and muscle thromboxane synthase was higher (P < 0.05) with resveratrol compared to placebo. Resveratrol also abolished exercise-induced improvements in LDL, total cholesterol/HDL ratio, and triglycerides (P < 0.05). Sirtuin 1 protein levels and VCAM-1 were unaffected.
Why it matters
Resveratrol supplementation may counteract key cardiovascular and metabolic adaptations to exercise training in older adults.
Limits
The sample size was small (n = 27) and limited strictly to healthy, inactive older men. Only a single dose (250 mg) and an 8-week duration were evaluated, leaving long-term outcomes, dose-response effects, and generalizability to women or younger populations unaddressed.
Cited by
- supports A clinical study demonstrated that resveratrol supplementation interfered with and blunted physiological adaptations to endurance exercise in humans.