Inflammation, thrombosis and oxidative stress are rarely studied together when wine’s biological activity is concerned; hence the existing literature lacks a holistic point of view in the biological outcome. The scope of the present study is to parallel evaluate the effect of wine extracts on those mechanisms. Ten wine varieties and two different extraction methods were used leading to five extracts for each wine: total lipids (TL) and fractions with different phenolic compound classes (FI, FII, FIII and FIV). Their effect on oxidative stress, platelet aggregation and the secretion of cytokines from mononuclear cells was measured and a biological score was calculated. FII of white wines is the most potent extract and the extracts FIII and TL are following. Specifically, FII had higher anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory score while all three fractions had a similar anti-platelet score. Furthermore, FII and FIII extracts were the most potent red wine extracts and revealed the highest anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory scores. White wine FII extracts were more potent than the red wine ones while FI and FIV extracts of red wine were more potent than the white wine ones. In conclusion, the protective effect of a wine is independent of its color but is strongly associated with its microconstituents profile. FII extract revealed the highest biological score and further examination is needed in order to identify the compounds that are responsible for the aforementioned actions.

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Background. Wine is one of the oldest traditional alcoholic beverages consumed worldwide. In addition, red and white wines are an excellent source of antioxidant compounds. Numerous studies have focused on the analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids of several wines originating from organic and conventional cultivars growing grapes. However, to the authors best knowledge, there are no research papers dealing with the phenolic content of wines made on the Ionian Islands so far. Materials and methods. The amount of total phenolics, total flavonoids, total anthocyanins, total tannins, the concentrations of individual phenolic compounds, as well as the antioxidant capacity, were used synergistically to assess the compositional profile of eleven monovarietal wines. Results. As expected, red wines exhibited the strongest antioxidant profile. Vertzami was the richest variety in total phenols and antioxidant capacity, followed by the Avgoustiatis variety and Mavrodaphne variety. Regarding white wines, Thiako white had the highest total phenolic values, while Robola rosé contained a similar total phenolic content as the white varieties. A highly positive correlation between the antioxidant capacity and polyphenol composition expressed as total phenolic, total flavonoid, total anthocyanin and total tannin content, was observed. Last, gallic acid and tyrosol were two of the major phenolic compounds detected in all tested wines. Conclusion. Our findings revealed that the amounts of phenolic contents and antioxidant activity vary significantly in different types of wines. The observed differences could be related to a range of variables such as geographical origin, aging, climate and the vinification techniques.