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Ingredient guide

Resveratrol benefits: what it does and what trials found

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

Resveratrol is a plant compound found in grape skins, red wine and peanuts. Its one graded effect, on how well arteries widen, is early evidence from trials using 30 to 500 mg a day. Other trials found no benefit, and 250 mg a day blunted fitness gains from training in older men.1,2,3

Key facts

  • Most of a swallowed dose is absorbed, but only traces of unchanged resveratrol reach the blood.4
  • NIH's LiverTox database finds no conclusive evidence that resveratrol benefits humans.5
  • The European Union caps synthetic trans-resveratrol in supplements at 150 mg a day for adults.6
  • At high doses, resveratrol changes the activity of liver enzymes that clear many medicines.7

What resveratrol is

Resveratrol belongs to the stilbenes, a group of plant compounds. Grapevines make it in response to stresses such as fungal attack, and it collects mainly in the skin of the grape.8

Resveratrol occurs as trans-resveratrol, cis-resveratrol and piceid, a form bound to a sugar. Grapes and peanuts contain mainly the sugar-bound form, while red wine supplies free trans- and cis-resveratrol.9

The root of Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) is a commercial source of supplement resveratrol. It also contains piceid and emodin.10

The European Union's authorization covers synthetic trans-resveratrol that is at least 99% pure.6

Interest in resveratrol grew from cell and animal research, including work on sirtuin enzymes and aging. Those results have not carried over to people in a consistent way.1,5

What happens after you swallow it

At least 70% of a 25 mg dose was absorbed, yet only trace amounts of unchanged resveratrol reached the blood; its sulfate and glucuronide forms reached levels up to about 20 times higher.4,11

That is why researchers are unsure which form does anything in people: the unchanged compound, or the sulfate and glucuronide forms the gut and liver turn it into.4,11

What the evidence shows

One effect is graded here, and it is early evidence. It rests on flow-mediated dilation, a test of how much the main artery in the upper arm widens when blood flow increases.2,12

May support normal blood vessel function*1,2

Early evidence

A 2022 meta-analysis of randomized trials found a small improvement in flow-mediated dilation, a test of how well an artery widens (about 1.4 percentage points); a 2026 umbrella review rated this as moderate-certainty evidence from 8 trials (603 people) that used 30 to 500 mg a day for 1 to 24 weeks. The trials enrolled mixed groups that included people under medical care, none used this product's 600 mg label dose, and the umbrella review saw weaker or less favorable results overall at 500 mg a day or more.

Amount studied: 30 to 500 mg a day for 1 to 24 weeks

In patient groups, pooled trials found effects that were mostly trivial, of low certainty, or based on too few trials.13

In a 16-week trial of 74 middle-aged men with several metabolic risk factors, neither 150 mg nor 1,000 mg a day changed the main measures compared with placebo.14

In 27 inactive men around 65 doing 8 weeks of high-intensity training, the gain in maximal oxygen uptake was 45% larger with placebo than with 250 mg of trans-resveratrol a day.3

No human trial shows that resveratrol slows aging. Longer lifespans were seen in simple organisms and rodents, while human trials have measured blood and vessel markers over weeks or months.1,15

How much people take

The trials behind the blood vessel finding gave 30 to 500 mg a day for 1 to 24 weeks.1

A 2026 review of 45 meta-analyses saw weaker or less favorable results at 500 mg a day or more, and in trials longer than 12 weeks.1

The European Union allows synthetic trans-resveratrol in supplements for adults at up to 150 mg a day.6

The dosage guide sets these amounts beside what higher doses did in trials, and explains how to read an extract's label.

In food

Grapes, wine, peanuts and soy are dietary sources of resveratrol. Red wine and Itadori tea, a traditional herbal tea in Japan and China, supply relatively high amounts, while grapes and peanuts contain low levels.9

Among 40,685 Spanish adults, the median intake of resveratrol and piceid from food was 100 mcg (0.1 mg) a day, and about a third took in none. Wine supplied 98.4% of it and grapes and grape juice 1.6%, while peanuts, pistachios and berries added less than 0.01%.15

A typical diet supplies well under 1 mg a day, while the vessel trials started at 30 mg.1,15

What's in ours

Our label lists 600 mg of Japanese knotweed root extract per capsule, half of it (300 mg) trans-resveratrol, and directs two capsules a day: 600 mg of trans-resveratrol in total. That is above the 30 to 500 mg used in the blood vessel trials and four times the EU's 150 mg cap, so one capsule a day is closer to the amounts studied.1,6

Side effects, medicines, and who should ask first

LiverTox lists few side effects: minor stomach upset, nausea, headache and fatigue.5

Diarrhea and other gut symptoms at 2.5 g a day or more; at 2,000 mg twice a day, 6 of 8 healthy adults had diarrhea.11,16

Slight rises in liver enzymes at 1.5 to 3 g a day that returned to normal after stopping. LiverTox rates resveratrol an unlikely cause of liver injury and reports no published cases of serious liver injury.5

Ask your pharmacist or doctor first

NIH's LiverTox database lists a possible interaction between resveratrol and anticoagulant blood thinners. The warfarin label asks for more frequent INR checks whenever a botanical product is started or stopped, and MedlinePlus says some supplements may raise the risk of bleeding with warfarin.5,17,18

Expected from how the two work, not shown in studies

At 1 g a day for 4 weeks, resveratrol slowed three liver enzymes that clear many medicines (CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C9) and sped up a fourth (CYP1A2) in 42 healthy volunteers.7

The European Union requires labels of supplements with trans-resveratrol to say that people taking medicines should use them only under medical supervision, because it may interact with specific medicines.6

LiverTox also lists a possible interaction with estrogens, such as those in hormone therapy.5

  • Ask your doctor or pharmacist first if you take any prescription medicine, especially a blood thinner5
  • Ask first if you have a bleeding disorder or liver disease
  • Ask first if you take estrogen or have a hormone-sensitive condition5
  • Ask first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18; Europe's authorization is for adults only6

Questions people ask

What does resveratrol do for the body?

In people, the clearest finding is a small change in how well arteries widen, graded early. LiverTox finds no conclusive evidence of benefit in humans, and several trials found no effect on the measures they studied.2,5,14

Is taking resveratrol the same as drinking red wine?

No. In a large Spanish study, food supplied a median of 0.1 mg a day, nearly all of it from wine, while trials used 30 mg or more.1,15

Are the benefits different for men?

No benefit specific to men has been shown. In a trial of older men in training, 250 mg a day reduced the fitness gain compared with placebo.3

Can I take resveratrol with a blood thinner?

Ask your doctor or pharmacist first. LiverTox lists a possible interaction with anticoagulants, and the medicine page on this site sets out what is documented.5

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Sources

  1. Sun JN, Yang R, Fang L, et al. Effects of resveratrol supplementation on multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. Nutr J. 2026;25(1):63. Opened 2026-10-01.
  2. Mohammadipoor N, Shafiee F, Rostami A, et al. Resveratrol supplementation efficiently improves endothelial health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytother Res. 2022;36(9):3529-3539. Opened 2026-10-01.
  3. Gliemann L, Schmidt JF, Olesen J, et al. Resveratrol blunts the positive effects of exercise training on cardiovascular health in aged men. J Physiol. 2013;591(20):5047-5059. Opened 2026-10-01.
  4. Walle T, Hsieh F, DeLegge MH, Oatis JE Jr, Walle UK. High absorption but very low bioavailability of oral resveratrol in humans. Drug Metab Dispos. 2004;32(12):1377-1382. Opened 2026-10-07.
  5. Resveratrol. In: LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2012-. Updated November 30, 2024. Opened 2026-10-01.
  6. European Commission. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1190 of 19 July 2016 authorising the placing on the market of trans-resveratrol as a novel food ingredient under Regulation (EC) No 258/97. Official Journal of the European Union, L 196, 21.7.2016, p. 53. Opened 2026-10-07.
  7. Chow HH, Garland LL, Hsu CH, et al. Resveratrol modulates drug- and carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes in a healthy volunteer study. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2010;3(9):1168-1175. Opened 2026-10-01.
  8. Bavaresco L, Lucini L, Busconi M, Flamini R, De Rosso M. Wine Resveratrol: From the Ground Up. Nutrients. 2016;8(4):222. Opened 2026-10-07.
  9. Burns J, Yokota T, Ashihara H, Lean ME, Crozier A. Plant foods and herbal sources of resveratrol. J Agric Food Chem. 2002;50(11):3337-3340. Opened 2026-10-07.
  10. Chen BY, Kuo CH, Liu YC, et al. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction of the botanical dietary supplement resveratrol and other constituents of Polygonum cuspidatum. J Nat Prod. 2012;75(10):1810-1813. Opened 2026-10-07.
  11. Brown VA, Patel KR, Viskaduraki M, et al. Repeat dose study of the cancer chemopreventive agent resveratrol in healthy volunteers: safety, pharmacokinetics, and effect on the insulin-like growth factor axis. Cancer Res. 2010;70(22):9003-9011. Opened 2026-10-01.
  12. Wong RH, Howe PR, Buckley JD, et al. Acute resveratrol supplementation improves flow-mediated dilatation in overweight/obese individuals with mildly elevated blood pressure. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2011;21(11):851-856. Opened 2026-10-07.
  13. Zeraattalab-Motlagh S, Jayedi A, Shab-Bidar S. The effects of resveratrol supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021;114(5):1675-1685. Opened 2026-10-01.
  14. Kjær TN, Ornstrup MJ, Poulsen MM, et al. No Beneficial Effects of Resveratrol on the Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2017;102(5):1642-1651. Opened 2026-10-01.
  15. Zamora-Ros R, Andres-Lacueva C, Lamuela-Raventós RM, et al. Concentrations of resveratrol and derivatives in foods and estimation of dietary intake in a Spanish population: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain cohort. Br J Nutr. 2008;100(1):188-196. Opened 2026-10-07.
  16. la Porte C, Voduc N, Zhang G, et al. Steady-State pharmacokinetics and tolerability of trans-resveratrol 2000 mg twice daily with food, quercetin and alcohol (ethanol) in healthy human subjects. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2010;49(7):449-454. Opened 2026-10-07.
  17. Warfarin sodium tablets: prescribing information and Medication Guide (Teva Pharmaceuticals USA). DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Published June 23, 2025. Opened 2026-10-07.
  18. Warfarin. MedlinePlus Drug Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Last revised March 15, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.