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Longevity supplements › Resveratrol and Aging › Studies

Pooled review (meta-analysis)

In animals, pooled review of 19 papers: longer life, but weaker in higher species

Hector and colleagues · Biology letters · 2012

Original title: The effect of resveratrol on longevity across species: a meta-analysis.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Mixed

Overall, resveratrol extended life. The effect was strongest in yeast and worms and less reliable in higher species. Few species showed clear life extension. Authors question selling it as a life-extending supplement.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Pooled review (meta-analysis)
Who or what was studied
19 studies · Yeast, worms, mice, fruit flies and killifish
What was tested
Resveratrol vs no resveratrol on lifespan, pooled from 19 papers
What it measured
The question itself: aging and age-related disease
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
No disclosure in PubMed.
Journal
Biology letters, 2012
Source
PubMed record 22718956. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Pools the results of 19 studies.
  • •A pooled review is only as strong as the studies it pools.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: aging and age-related disease.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a pooled review (meta-analysis), and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: aging and age-related decline

    3

    1 benefit, 1 mixed, 1 no difference

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    3

    1 benefit, 1 mixed, 1 harm

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    7

    4 benefit, 2 mixed, 1 no difference

  4. Population studies

    1

    1 benefit

  5. Blood levels and genes

    1

    1 no difference

  6. Animals

    1

    1 benefit

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does resveratrol slow aging?”

Not shown in people.

Confidence: very low. Based on 22 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer
  • Quoted in “What we found”: A 2012 pooled analysis of 19 papers in six species found resveratrol lengthened life most in yeast and worms, with less reliable effects in higher animals.
  • Part of the finding “Longer life: shown only in animals and yeast”.
  • Summed up in “What reviews found”: Pooled survival data from 19 papers in six species, from yeast to mice. Resveratrol lengthened life overall, most in yeast and worms; few species showed it clearly. Authors questioned marketing it as a life-extending supplement for humans.
  • Marked as a key paper in the research timeline: Cross-species pooling: longer life mostly in simple organisms.

Other reviews on this question

See all 22 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads agreed on every checked field. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
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