To assess the antioxidative effect of the non-alcoholic components of
wine, human low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) was oxidized in vitro by copper ions in
the presence of polyphenolic extracts from
three wines: standard red wine (R), standard white wine (W1), and
white wine the must of which
had been in contact with grape solids during 8 h before fermentation
(W2). Lipoprotein peroxidation
was monitored as the formation of conjugated dienes, of thiobarbituric
acid reactive substances
(TBARS), and fluorescent substances. At equal volume-of-extract
additions to LDL, the lag phase
of diene production increased proportionally with the polyphenol
concentration of each extract. By
the addition of equal phenolic substance concentration (8 μmol of
gallic acid equiv/L) the timing of
lag phase was 410 ± 8, 442 ± 11, and 516 ± 37 min for W1, R, and
W2 respectively compared to 78
± 6 min for control LDL without added extract. At 9 h of
incubation, TBARS and fluorescence
production were drastically inhibited by W1 but completely inhibited by
R and W2. At 24 h of
oxidation only fluorescence was still inhibited. The results
indicate that the polyphenols contained
in wines could inhibit protein derivatization but only delay lipid
peroxidation and that the type, as
well as the concentrations, of polyphenols of the different wines have
varying protective effects.
The wine-making process that includes the pre-incubation of the
must with the grape skin prior to
and during fermentation (red and certain white wines) was the most
effective in preventing LDL
oxidation in vitro.
Keywords: Wine extracts; polyphenols; lipoprotein peroxidation;
atherosclerosis