← All supplements

Resveratrol

Stilbene polyphenol · also known as trans-resveratrol

Stilbene polyphenol studied in primary human intestinal and skin mast cells; laboratory effects differed by tissue, mediator, and exposure.

How it relates to mast cells
Mast cells in the laboratory
Types of studies cited
Human mast cells in vitro
Approved for
nothing — US dietary supplement — not FDA-approved as a drug

What this relationship means: Studied on mast cells directly, but in cell culture or animals rather than in people. The study-design field distinguishes human cells from non-human models. A mechanism demonstrated in a dish is a reason to investigate, not a result — and the concentrations used are frequently ones that human exposure does not reach.

Mechanism of action

Resveratrol is a stilbene polyphenol found in grapes and sold as a dietary supplement. A laboratory study using mature human mast cells isolated from intestinal tissue examined FcεRI cross-linking. Under those conditions, resveratrol reduced degranulation and several cytokine and chemokine expression signals alongside reduced ERK1/2 and STAT3 phosphorylation.

A separate study using primary human skin mast cells produced a more selective pattern. At lower experimental exposures, prostaglandin D2 production fell while degranulation did not, and TNF production increased. Only the highest tested exposure broadly suppressed the measured endpoints other than Syk phosphorylation.

Together, the studies show that resveratrol can interact with IgE-linked signalling in human mast cells in the laboratory. They also show why “mast cell stabiliser” would be too broad a label: the direction and size of the observed changes depended on the tissue, mediator, and experimental exposure. Neither study administered oral resveratrol to people with MCAS.

Sources

  1. Resveratrol Is a Natural Inhibitor of Human Intestinal Mast Cell Activation and Phosphorylation of Mitochondrial ERK1/2 and STAT3 Peer-reviewed study 2021 PMID 34299258 · link checked 21 Aug 2026
  2. Resveratrol preferentially inhibits IgE-dependent PGD2 biosynthesis but enhances TNF production from human skin mast cells Peer-reviewed study 2016 PMID 26777630 · link checked 21 Aug 2026