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Anti-obesity effects of resveratrol: comparison between animal models and humans

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An Erratum to this article was published on 05 October 2017

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Abstract

The prevalence of obesity has increased rapidly during recent years and has reached epidemic proportions. As a result, the scientific community is interested in active biomolecules which are naturally present in plants and foodstuffs and may be useful in body weight management. In recent years, polyphenols have made up one of the most frequently studied groups among these molecules. Numerous studies have been carried out on animals to analyse the potential anti-obesity effects of resveratrol, a non-flavonoid polyphenol, and a general consensus concerning the body-fat-lowering effect of this compound exists. By contrast, studies in humans have been few so far. Moreover, in these studies, the effectiveness of resveratrol is low. The aims of the present review are to summarize the results reported so far on this topic and to justify the differences observed between animals and humans. It seems that the reduced response to resveratrol in humans cannot be attributed to the use of lower doses in humans because the doses that induce body-fat-lowering effects in rodents are in the same range as those used in human studies. With regard to the experimental period length, treatments were longer in animal studies than in human studies. This can be one of the reasons contributing to the reduced responses observed in humans. Moreover, animals used in the reported studies are young while volunteers participating in human studies are adults, suggesting that resveratrol may be more efficient in young individuals. In addition to differences in the experimental designs, metabolic differences between animals and human cannot be discarded.

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Change history

  • 05 October 2017

    Volume 73 issue 3 was published with an incorrect cover date. Correct is August 2017. The Publisher apologizes for this mistake and all related inconveniences caused by this.

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Acknowledgements

This research has been supported by MINECO (AGL-2015-65719-R), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), University of the Basque Country (ELDUNANOTEK UFI11/32), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERobn) and Basque Government (IT-572-13).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Pharmacy and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vitoria, Spain

    Alfredo Fernández-Quintela, Maialen Fernández, Leixuri Aguirre, Iñaki Milton-Laskibar & Maria P. Portillo

  2. CIBERobn Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain

    Alfredo Fernández-Quintela, Leixuri Aguirre & Maria P. Portillo

  3. INSERM U1048, Institute of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases (I2MC), National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM U1048) and University Paul Sabatier (I2MC-UPS), Toulouse, France

    Christian Carpéné

  4. Endocrinology and Nutrition Service, Infanta Luisa Hospital, Sevilla, Spain

    José Contreras

Authors
  1. Alfredo Fernández-Quintela
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  2. Christian Carpéné
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  4. Leixuri Aguirre
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  7. Maria P. Portillo
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Correspondence to Maria P. Portillo.

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An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-017-0593-x.

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Fernández-Quintela, A., Carpéné, C., Fernández, M. et al. Anti-obesity effects of resveratrol: comparison between animal models and humans. J Physiol Biochem 73, 417–429 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-016-0544-y

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