Resveratrol is a naturally occurring non-flavonoid polyphenol found primarily in blueberries, black grapes and peanuts
Resveratrol has important pharmacological effects as an antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor.
The antitumor action of resveratrol may be a consequence of its effect at the mitochondrial level.
The tumor cell, due to its high replication, needs large amounts of energy. Energy is produced in the mitochondria of the cell, but tumor cells do not have enough energy for their high replication and need to activate energy formation in the cell cytoplasm. Resveratrol induces the switch to mitochondrial metabolism and as this consumes a lot of oxygen, it produces a lot of free radicals that damage the mitochondria, inducing apoptosis or cell death.
Numerous studies on resveratrol have shown great potential in the treatment of different types of cancer, due to its ability to affect several molecular pathways.
Resveratrol has proven to reduce prostate tumor cell invasion of prostate cancer..
In colon cancer , resveratrol stimulates apoptosis or programmed cell death of tumor cells, decreasing tumor growth.
It has also proven to increase anti-tumor immune activity.
On the other hand, it has been shown to activate the Rad9 suppressor gene that induces tumor cell death in breast cancer and lung cancer.
Resveratrol has proven the ability to eliminate tumor stem cells, which are the main inducers of tumor growth.
Increasing the amount of resveratrol-rich foods has become an important part of shaping cancer-specific diets. Of these foods rich in resveratrol, those with a high glycemic index or high amount of glucose should not be included.
Nutritional supplements of resveratrol should have presentations that increase bioavailability and absorption at the intestinal level, to ensure that adequate blood levels are reached.
Scientific studies on the anti-tumor effect of resveratrol
- Ferraresi A et al. (2024). Resveratrol Promotes Self-digestion to Put Cancer to Sleep. J Cancer Prev. 2024 Mar 30;29(1):1-5. doi: 10.15430/JCP.24.001. Epub 2024 Mar 29. PMID: 38567110; PMCID: PMC10982519.
- Tong K, Wang P et al. (2024) Resveratrol Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression through Regulating Exosome Secretion. Curr Med Chem. 2024;31(15):2107-2118. doi: 10.2174/0929867331666230914090053. PMID: 37711128.
- Kursvietiene L, Kopustinskiene DM et al (2023) Anti-Cancer Properties of Resveratrol: A Focus on Its Impact on Mitochondrial Functions. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Nov 29;12(12):2056. doi: 10.3390/antiox12122056. PMID: 38136176; PMCID: PMC10740678.
- Sethi G, Rath P, Chauhan A et al. (2023). Apoptotic Mechanisms of Quercetin in Liver Cancer: Recent Trends and Advancements. Pharmaceutics. 2023 Feb 20;15(2):712. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020712. PMID: 36840034; PMCID: PMC9960374.
- Joseph M Wu et al (2020). Resveratrol Suppresses Prostate Cancer Epithelial Cell Scatter/Invasion by Targeting Inhibition of Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) Secretion by Prostate Stromal Cells and Upregulation of E-cadherin by Prostate Cancer Epithelial Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Mar; 21(5): 1760. doi: 10.3390/ijms21051760.
- Milad Ashrafizadeh et al (2020). Natural products and phytochemical nanoformulations targeting mitochondria in oncotherapy: an updated review on resveratrol. Biosci Rep. 2020 Apr 30;40(4). pii: BSR20200257. doi: 10.1042/BSR20200257.
- Joaquim Bosch-Barrera et al (2020). Resveratrol targets PD-L1 glycosylation and dimerization to enhance antitumor T-cell immunity. Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Jan 15; 12(1): 8-34. doi: 10.18632/aging.102646.
- Gaoran Xu et al (2020). Resveratrol Inhibits the Tumorigenesis of Follicular Thyroid Cancer via ST6GAL2-Regulated Activation of the Hippo Signaling Pathway. Mol Ther Oncolytics. 2020 Jan 10;16:124-133. doi: 10.1016/j.omto.2019.12.010. eCollection 2020 Mar 27.
- Jerson L. Silva (2020). Anticancer potential of Resveratrol, B-Lapachone and their analogues. Molecules 2020, 25, 893; doi:10.3390/molecules25040893
