RESVERATROL: MORE THAN A PHYTOCHEMICAL

Abstract

In recent years, alternative and complementary medicine including the plant-based drugs with antioxidant and neuroptotective effects has attracted a growing interest. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound which is found in various plant species, has emerged as a promising nutraceutical with therapeutic potentials in neuropsychiatric, cardiometabolic and cancer diseases, also aging. The abundance of research providing promising findings about the multi-spectrum therapeutic applications of resveratrol and its encouraging potential to treat or prevent chronic and age-related disorders has raised a considerable number of clinical trials. Recently, resveratrol is implicated the biology of nerve growth factor (NGF), a critical player in the maintenance of neuronal growth and function. Furthermore, resveratrol affects the endocannabinoid signalling (eCBs) which exerts modulatory effects in the survival signalling pathways, neural plasticity, and a variety of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes. The therapeutic effects of this ubiquitous signalling system in Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, mood and movement disorders, spinal cord injury, and stroke have been well-documented. In the present review, the implication of NGF and eCBs in the mechanism of action of resveratrol, that may be of therapeutic significance in neurological and non-neurological disorders, is highlighted. Biomed Rev 2015; 26: 13-21.