Derivatives of resveratrol: potential agents in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trans-trihydroxystilbene) is a naturally occurring phytoalexin that is found in medicinal plants, grape skin, peanuts and red wine. Resveratrol exhibits a remarkable range of biological activities, including anticancer activity, antitubulin activity, anti-cardiovascular disease activity, etc. Several other natural products are structurally similar to resveratrol and also present in food. In addition, a series of resveratrol derivatives have been synthesized by the addition of defined functional groups to increase the potency or enhance the activity of specific properties of resveratrol. These resveratrol derivatives might provide promising functions as cardiovascular disease chemopreventive agents. In this review, we will attempt to summarize the main developments of resveratrol derivatives in cardiovascular disease and the main developments have occurred in derivatives of resveratrol's structure-activity relationship and cardiovascular disease over the last couple of decades.