Red Wine and Resveratrol — Does It Protect the Heart?

Aim of the study: The French paradox, characterized by a lower prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) despite a diet rich in saturated fats, challenges conventional beliefs linking saturated fat intake to CHD risk. Despite high saturated fat consumption, the French exhibit lower CHD rates, sparking interest in the potential cardiovascular benefits of red wine (RW), a staple of the Mediterranean diet rich in polyphenols like resveratrol.

Results: Of the 812 studies initially screened, 36 met the inclusion criteria in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Among these, 28 reported positive effects of RW on cardiovascular parameters, including improvements in lipid profiles, reductions in inflammatory markers, enhanced endothelial function, and modulation of gut microbiota. Two studies identified adverse effects, while six found no significant associations. Collectively, these findings suggest that moderate RW consumption—attributable primarily to its polyphenolic compounds such as resveratrol—may confer cardioprotective benefits, particularly in patients with CHD. This review supports the French paradox by highlighting that moderate RW consumption may improve cardiovascular health through lipid modulation, endothelial function, and anti-inflammatory effects—mainly due to its polyphenols rather than alcohol. However, individual responses and lifestyle factors may influence outcomes, warranting further research.

Aim of the study: Background/Objectives: This review aimed to provide an updated synthesis of the evidence on the effects(s) of grapes, blueberries, and their constituent bioactives on cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases globally.

Results: Certain varieties, including red-fleshed table grapes (red berry grapes), may represent effective dietary sources of these bioactives. Conclusions: Cardiovascular disease remains a common public health challenge. Increasing attention is being given to dietary and lifestyle strategies for its prevention and management. Within this context, and alongside existing recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable intake, there is scope for more specific guidance emphasising the consumption of dark-pigmented grapes, berries, and red-fleshed table grapes abundant in bioactives such as polyphenols.

Aim of the study: Wine is a popular alcoholic beverage that has been consumed for hundreds of years. Benefits from moderate alcohol consumption have been widely supported by the scientific literature and, in this line, red wine intake has been related to a lesser risk for coronary heart disease (CHD).

Results: Resveratrol is considered the most effective wine compound with respect to the prevention of CHD because of its antioxidant properties. The mechanisms responsible for its putative cardioprotective effects would include changes in lipid profiles, reduction of insulin resistance, and decrease in oxidative stress  of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The aim of this review is to summarize the accumulated evidence correlating moderate red wine consumption with prevention of CHD by focusing on the different mechanisms underlying this relationship. Furthermore, the chemistry of wine as well as chemical factors that influence the composition of the bioactive components of red wine are also discussed.

Aim of the study: The role of inflammation and oxidative stress in atherosclerosis development has been increasingly well recognized over the past decade. Inflammation has a significant role at all stages of atherosclerosis, including initiation, progression and plaque formation.

Results: Accumulating evidence suggests that it is a highly pleiotropic molecule that modulates numerous targets and molecular functions. Epidemiological studies indicate that the Mediterranean diet, rich in resveratrol, is associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerosis. Resveratrol is believed to decrease circulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, reduce cardiovascular disease risk; it reduces lipid peroxidation, platelet aggregation and oxidative stress. Resveratrol is considered a safe compound, since no significant toxic effects have been demonstrated after administration of a broad range of concentrations, and an effective anti-atherogenic agent.

Aim of the study: Numerous epidemiological studies indicate that a moderate intake of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of morbidity and mortality secondary to cardiovascular diseases. Alcohol intake from any type of alcoholic beverage appears beneficial, but red wine seems to confer additional health benefits because of the presence of red wine polyphenolic compounds (RWPC).

Results: RWPC exert numerous effects including antioxidant and free radical properties, anti-aggregatory platelet and anti-thrombotic activities. Moreover, RWPC are powerful vasodilators and contribute to the preservation of the integrity of the endothelium and inhibition of smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration. All these effects of red wine might interfere with atherosclerotic plaque development and stability, vascular thrombosis and occlusion. Although, red wine might be of therapeutic benefit in cardiovascular diseases, prospective controlled clinical studies are still lacking.

Aim of the study: The term FRENCH PARADOX was coined in 1992 to describe the relatively low incidence of cardiovascular disease in the French population, despite a relatively high dietary intake of saturated fats, and potentially attributable to the consumption of red wine.

Results: Light to moderate red wine consumption is also associated with a favorable genetic modulation of fibrinolytic proteins, ultimately increasing the surface-localized endothelial cell fibrinolysis. Overall, therefore, the "French paradox" may have its basis within a milieu containing several key molecules, so that favorable cardiovascular benefits might be primarily attributable to combined, additive, or perhaps synergistic effects of alcohol and other wine components on atherogenesis, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. Conversely, chronic heavy alcohol consumption and binge drinking are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events.

Aim of the study: Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a phytoalexin found in grape skins, peanuts, and red wine, has been reported to have a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties. It has been speculated that at low doses (such as consumed in the common diet) resveratrol may have cardioprotective activity.

Results: It has been speculated that at low doses (such as consumed in the common diet) resveratrol may have cardioprotective activity. In this article we describe recent in vitro and in vivo studies in animal models. The results of these studies suggest that resveratrol modulates vascular cell function, inhibits LDL oxidation, suppresses platelet aggregation and reduces myocardial damage during ischemia-reperfusion. Although the reported biological data indicate that resveratrol is a highly promising cardiovascular protective agent, more studies are needed to establish its bioavailability and in vivo cardioprotective effects, particularly in humans.

Aim of the study: Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a polyphenol phytoalexin present in a variety of plant species and has been implicated to explain the health benefits of red wine. A wide range of health beneficial effects have been demonstrated for resveratrol in animal studies.

Results: In animal models of cardiovascular disease, resveratrol protects the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury, reduces blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy in hypertensive animals, and slows the progression of atherosclerosis. A number of direct and indirect target molecules mediating the aforementioned cardiovascular effects of resveratrol have been identified. These include, among others, the estrogen receptor α, the adenosine receptors, the cyclooxygenase 1, the histone/protein deacetylase sirtuin 1, the AMP-activated protein kinase, the Akt kinase, the nuclear factor-E2-related factor-2, and NF-κB. Molecular mechanisms involved in the signal cascades are discussed.

Aim of the study: The devastating effects of heavy alcohol drinking have been long time recognized. In the last decades, potential benefits of modest red wine drinking were suggested. In European countries in which red wide intake is not negligible (such as France), the association between cholesterol and cardiovascular (CV) risk was less evident, suggesting the action of some protective molecules in red wine or other foods and drinks.

Results: Epidemiological and mechanistic evidence of a J-shaped relationship between red wine intake and CV risk further supported the "French paradox". Specific components of red wine both in vitro and in animal models were discovered. Polyphenols and especially resveratrol largely contribute to CV prevention mainly through antioxidant properties. They exert beneficial effects on endothelial dysfunction and hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic diseases, thus reducing the risk of adverse CV events such as myocardial infarction ischemic stroke and heart failure. Of interest, recent studies pointed out the role of ethanol itself as a potential cardioprotective agent, but a clear epidemiological evidence is still missing. The aim of this narrative review is to update current knowledge on the intracellular mechanism underlying the cardioprotective effects of polyphenols and ethanol.

Aim of the study: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) continue to be the world's leading cause of death and a major global healthcare burden. Concerns about side effects and long-term therapy restrictions have raised interest in supplementary therapeutic approaches, even if traditional pharmaceutical and surgical procedures are still crucial to the management of CVD.

Results: Through their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, antihypertensive, and endothelial-protective properties, plant-derived phytochemicals such as flavonoids, carotenoids, polyphenols, glucosinolates, and sulfur-containing compounds have considerable cardioprotective potential. Vascular function, oxidative stress, platelet aggregation, insulin sensitivity, and lipid metabolism have all benefited by compounds like quercetin, catechins, curcumin, resveratrol, and lycopene. However, its therapeutic translation is still constrained by issues with bioavailability, dosage uniformity, and clinical validation. Although more extensive clinical research is needed to determine their long-term efficacy and safety, the evidence now available indicates that phytochemicals may be beneficial supplements to traditional cardiovascular treatments.