Resveratrol boosts bone density for postmenopausal women
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A naturally occurring polyphenol in red grapes and berries may provide a prophylactic benefit for preventing bone loss in postmenopausal women without osteoporosis, according to data published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
“The modest increase in bone mineral density at the femoral neck with resveratrol resulted in an improvement in the study population’s T-score and a reduction in the 10-year probability of major fracture risk,” Peter Howe, PhD, professor emeritus at the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, told Healio. “Our subanalysis also showed a greater bone-protective effect of resveratrol among participants who supplemented with vitamin D plus calcium.”
Howe, Rachel Wong, PhD, a NHMRC-ARC dementia research fellow at the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle, and colleagues analyzed data from 128 postmenopausal women not taking hormone therapy, recruited between November 2016 and June 2017 to participate in the Resveratrol Supporting Healthy Aging in Women study (mean age, 64 years). Researchers randomly assigned women 75 mg resveratrol capsules twice daily (morning and evening; n = 63) or placebo (n = 65) for 12 months. Participants then crossed over to the alternate treatment or placebo for another 12 months. Bone density was assessed via DXA at the lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck at baseline and at the end of each treatment phase.
When comparing resveratrol supplementation vs. placebo, researchers did not observe a between-group difference in whole-body BMD; however, compared with placebo, mean BMD increased in the lumbar spine by 1.3%, improving the mean T-score by 1.5%. Similarly, BMD and corresponding T-scores for femoral neck and total hip increased after resveratrol supplementation compared with placebo, “which in turn significantly attenuated the 10-year probability of sustaining a major osteoporotic fracture or hip fracture,” the researchers wrote.
In an exploratory analysis, researchers found the bone-protective benefit of resveratrol was greater among women who took vitamin D supplementation plus calcium.
“The next steps are to evaluate whether resveratrol can counteract postmenopausal osteoporosis or prevent accelerated bone loss in recently menopausal women,” Wong told Healio. “Additional clinical trials are also needed to determine whether the unique combination of vitamin D plus calcium and resveratrol can improve osseous profiles in postmenopausal women.”
For more information:
Peter Howe, PhD, can be reached at peter.howe@newcastle.edu.au.
Rachel Wong, PhD, can be reached at rachel.wong@newcastle.edu.au.
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