Resveratrol reduces pain, improves quality of life for menopausal women: Study
The first three peer-reviewed publications from the RESHAW study reported the cerebrovascular and cognitive benefits, as well as bone mineral density improvements in postmenopausal women.
The fourth peer-reviewed study, published in The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, found that regular resveratrol supplementation can significantly reduce the composite pain score by 18%.
“The outcomes of the RESHAW study are of great importance with some outstanding conclusions such as a 33% improvement in overall cognitive performance, a reduction in the 10-year probability of major and hip fracture, and now the extremely encouraging outcomes on overall wellbeing and sleep quality,” noted Clare Panchoo, VP, Health Ingredients, Evolva.
Conducted in Australia by PhD candidate Jay Jay Thaung Zaw, Emeritus Professor Peter Howe, and Dr. Rachel Wong at the University of Newcastle’s Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Australia, RESHAW is the largest, longest-running study of its kind with resveratrol.
Study details
The 24-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-period crossover intervention trial of resveratrol supplementation (75 mg) was conducted in 125 healthy postmenopausal women to evaluate effects on cognitive performance (details on that study can be seen here).
Aspects of well-being and quality of life were assessed with questionnaires as secondary outcomes of the study. Participants completed the six questionnaires that assessed their perceptions on general well-being, which include pain, mood and depressive symptoms, menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life. These surveys were conducted at baseline, as well as at the 12 and 24 month intervals.
Cerebrovascular responsiveness to hypercapnia was measured as a surrogate marker of cerebrovascular function.
Findings
Resveratrol supplementation was found to reduce composite pain score, especially in overweight individuals; this was associated with improvements in cerebrovascular responsiveness to hypercapnia. Somatic menopausal symptoms and general well-being were also improved after resveratrol supplementation.
“Resveratrol supplementation can reduce chronic pain in age-related osteoarthritis and improve menopause-related quality of life in postmenopausal women,” said Dr. Wong, NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Fellow and co-author of the study. “The two-year crossover comparison of regular resveratrol supplementation compared to the placebo, significantly reduced the composite pain score by 18%.”
The researchers suggest the results go beyond pain reduction. “Within the same study, we observed reductions in vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes, night sweats) and other somatic symptoms (heart discomfort, sleep problems, muscle, and joint discomfort) with resveratrol supplementation,” explained co-author Zaw.
“Game-changer” for women
“The range of significant health benefits from resveratrol supplementation demonstrated in the RESHAW study are a game-changer for women suffering from symptoms related to postmenopause,” said Panchoo, adding “these positive findings prove that there is an immediate need for products to be developed following the investigated dosage of 75 mg of Veri-t resveratrol twice daily, that can fill the market gap for this much-needed product development to support women’s health.”
Long development effort
Evolva has developed its fermented form of resveratrol over a period of years. The ingredient was hard launched at the Supply Side West trade show in Las Vegas in 2014. It went through a major rebranding effort in 2018.
Source: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society
August 31, 2020 - Published Ahead of Print doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001643
“Long-term resveratrol supplementation improves pain perception, menopausal symptoms, and overall well-being in postmenopausal women findings from a 24-month randomized, controlled, crossover trial”
Authors: T. Zaw et al
