Oral resveratrol in adults with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized placebo-controlled trial (ARTHROL)

PLoS Med. 2024 Aug 13;21(8):e1004440. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004440. eCollection 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Resveratrol is a natural compound found in red wine. It has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in preclinical models. We compared the effect of oral resveratrol in a new patented formulation to oral placebo for individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Methods and findings: ARTHROL was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial conducted in 3 tertiary care centers in France. We recruited adults who fulfilled the 1986 American College of Rheumatology criteria for knee osteoarthritis and reported a pain intensity score of at least 40 on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) in 10-point increments (0, no pain, to 100, maximal pain). Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) by using a computer-generated randomization list with permuted blocks of variable size (2, 4, or 6) to receive oral resveratrol (40 mg [2 caplets] twice a day for 1 week, then 20 mg [1 caplet] twice a day; resveratrol group) or matched oral placebo (placebo group) for 6 months. The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline in knee pain on a self-administered 11-point pain NRS at 3 months. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: (NCT02905799). Between October 20, 2017 and November 8, 2021, we assessed 649 individuals for eligibility, and from November 9, 2017, we recruited 142 (22%) participants (mean age 61.4 years [standard deviation (SD) 9.6] and 101 [71%] women); 71 (50%) were randomly assigned to the resveratrol group and 71 (50%) to the placebo group. At baseline, the mean knee pain score was 56.2/100 (SD 13.5). At 3 months, the mean reduction in knee pain was -15.7 (95% confidence interval (CI), -21.1 to -10.3) in the resveratrol group and -15.2 (95% CI, -20.5 to -9.8) in the placebo group (absolute difference -0.6 [95% CI, -8.0 to 6.9]; p = 0.88). Serious adverse events (not related to the interventions) occurred in 3 (4%) in the resveratrol group and 2 (3%) in the placebo group. Our study has limitations in that it was underpowered and the effect size, estimated to be 0.55, was optimistically estimated.

Conclusions: In this study, we observed that compared with placebo, oral resveratrol did not reduce knee pain in people with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02905799.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Clinical Trial, Phase III
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Female
  • France
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Osteoarthritis, Knee* / complications
  • Osteoarthritis, Knee* / drug therapy
  • Pain Measurement
  • Resveratrol* / administration & dosage
  • Resveratrol* / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Resveratrol

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02905799

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique National 2015: project no. 15-15-0234 to FR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.