Resveratrol is a natural compound suggested to have beneficial health effects. However, people are consuming resveratrol for this reason without having the adequate scientific evidence for its effects in humans. Therefore, scientific valid recommendations concerning the human intake of resveratrol based on available published scientific data are necessary. Such recommendations were formulated after the Resveratrol 2010 conference, held in September 2010 in Helsingør, Denmark. Literature search in databases as PubMed and ISI Web of Science in combination with manual search was used to answer the following five questions: ¹Can resveratrol be recommended in the prevention or treatment of human diseases?; ²Are there observed “side effects” caused by the intake of resveratrol in humans?; ³What is the relevant dose of resveratrol?; ⁴What valid data are available regarding an effect in various species of experimental animals?; ⁵Which relevant (overall) mechanisms of action of resveratrol have been documented? The overall conclusion is that the published evidence is not sufficiently strong to justify a recommendation for the administration of resveratrol to humans, beyond the dose which can be obtained from dietary sources. On the other hand, animal data are promising in prevention of various cancer types, coronary heart diseases and diabetes which strongly indicate the need for human clinical trials. Finally, we suggest directions for future research in resveratrol regarding its mechanism of action and its safety and toxicology in human subjects.

Objective  To determine whether mode of delivery is associated with the endocrine stress response in mother and child.Design  Prospective observational study.Setting  Tertiary care centre, University hospital.Population  A total of 103 nulliparous women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies at term undergoing either spontaneous labour for vaginal delivery or delivering by caesarean section without labour. Thirty women delivered vaginally without any pain relief, 21 women delivered vaginally with epidural anaesthesia, 23 women had ventouse extraction and 29 women underwent caesarean section with epidural analgesia.Methods  After delivery, maternal and umbilical cord blood was collected for determination of different stress‐associated hormones.Main outcome measures  Concentrations of epinephrine (EP), norepinephrine (NOR), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol (CORT), prolactin (PRL), corticotropin‐releasing factor and beta‐endorphin (BE).Results  Caesarean section was associated with significantly lower maternal concentrations of EP, NOR, ACTH, CORT, PRL and BE and lower newborn levels of EP, NOR and CORT compared with all other modes of delivery. Concentrations of EP, ACTH and BE differed significantly in newborns delivered by normal vaginal delivery, vaginal delivery with epidural anaesthesia and ventouse extraction.Conclusions  The mode of delivery and analgesia used during birth are associated with maternal and fetal endocrine stress responses.