The Efficacy of Resveratrol in the Treatment of Liver Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies

Dehua Luo^1*Zhoubiao Shang¹Qingying He¹Jianlong Ke¹Qiqi Xian²Shunxin Dai²Sheng Sun¹Shaoquan Xiong¹

• ¹Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
• ²Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

Resveratrol, a plant-derived polyphenol, is widely distributed in natural dietary sources including grapes and blueberries. This systematic review of 46 animal studies from 7 databases confirms it reduces liver fibrosis(LF). Through SYRCLE-guided risk-of-bias assessment and Stata 17.0-based meta-analysis, we demonstrate resveratrol's capacity to significantly suppress collagen deposition and reduce hydroxyproline levels-a principal fibrosis indicator. The compound effectively inhibits extracellular matrix component accumulation, including hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), type IV collagen (CIV), and type III procollagen Nterminal peptide (PIIINP), while regulating key fibrogenic mediators such as transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and collagen type I alpha 1 (Col1α1). Hepatic functional improvement is evidenced by elevated albumin concentrations and reduced activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Mechanistic insights reveal these effects are mediated through dual modulation of inflammatory pathways (downregulating interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]) and oxidative stress responses (enhancing superoxide dismutase [SOD]/glutathione [GSH] activity while reducing malondialdehyde [MDA] levels).Resveratrol shows promise for hepatic fibrosis, but species differences and significant study heterogeneity challenge translation to humans. These observations emphasize the imperative for standardized preclinical protocols and interspecies mechanistic studies to advance clinical applications.