Mounting evidence shows health benefits of grape polyphenols

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Public release date: 28-Oct-2008

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/e-mes102808.php

Contact: Jayne Dawkins

ja.dawkins@...

Elsevier

Mounting evidence shows health benefits of grape polyphenols

Grapes and grape extracts may lower cardiovascular disease risk, says

review in Nutrition Research

Philadelphia, PA, October 28, 2008 – A growing body of research data

suggests that consuming foods rich in polyphenols from grapes, including

red wine, helps reduce the risk of heart disease, according to a review

article in the November issue of Nutrition Research.

" Consumption of grape and grape extracts and/or grape products such as

red wine may be beneficial in preventing the development of chronic

degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, " write Wayne R.

Leifert, Ph.D., and Mahinda Y. Abeywardena, Ph.D., of Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Adelaide, Australia.

The authors review the accumulating evidence that grape polyphenols work

in many different ways to prevent cardiovascular and other

" inflammatory-mediated " diseases. Polyphenols are natural antioxidants

found in grapes and some other plant foods. Their types and actions

vary, depending on where in the grape they are found. Grape seeds, grape

skin, and grape juice contain several types of polyphenols, including

resveratrol, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and flavonoids.

Through their antioxidant effects, grape polyphenols help to slow or

prevent cell damage caused by oxidation. Polyphenols decrease oxidation

of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( " bad " cholesterol)—a key step in

the development of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Grape

polyphenols also have other protective effects on the heart and blood

vessels, including actions to reduce blood clotting, abnormal heart

rhythms, and blood vessel narrowing. It's not yet clear exactly how

these benefits of polyphenols occur, although there is evidence of

effects on cellular signaling and on the actions of certain genes. The

wide range of health-promoting effects suggests that several different,

possibly interrelated mechanisms may be involved.

So far, most of the evidence on grape polyphenols comes from laboratory

experiments and animal studies. However, a few studies support the

disease-preventing benefits of grapes in humans. Studies in patients

treated with grape seed extracts have shown improvements in blood flow

and cholesterol levels. In other studies, drinking Concord grape juice

has improved measures of blood flow in patients with coronary artery

disease and lowered blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

Studies investigating the lower rates of heart disease in France—the

so-called " French paradox " —first raised the possibility that red wine

might have health benefits. The subsequent research reviewed by Drs.

Leifert and Abeywardena helps build the case that grapes and grape

products might be a useful part of strategies to lower the high rate of

death from cardiovascular disease.

At a time of growing interest in the use of " functional foods and

nutraceuticals " to promote heart health, grapes and grape polyphenols

are " attractive candidates " for use in such supplements, Drs. Leifert

and Abeywardena believe. " Therefore, " they conclude, " supplementation

with grape seed, grape skin or red wine products may be a useful adjunct

to consider for a dietary approach in the prevention of cardiovascular

diseases, although additional research is required to support such a

strategy. "

--

ne Holden, MS, RD

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

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