RESEARCH - New clue to red wine's heart-protecting effect

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New clue to red wine's heart-protecting effect

Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:26 PM GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Scientists in the UK have identified " oligomeric

procyanidins " as the likely ingredient in red wine's polyphenols that

contributes to heart health and longevity. And some red wines contain more

procyanidins than others.

In the journal Nature, Dr. Corder, from Queen 's School of

Medicine and Dentistry in London, and his associates note that not everyone

agrees that red wine actually possess heart-healthy properties, which they

say may be due to the complexity and variability in the constituents in

different wines.

To look into this issue, the investigators cultured human blood vessel cells

and exposed them to 165 different wines to identify the polyphenols with

most potent effects on blood vessels.

They found that procyanidins suppress production of a protein called

endothelin-1 that constricts blood vessels. High-performance liquid

chromatography identified oligomeric procyanidins as the specific phenolic

constituent responsible for this effect.

People living in Nuoro province, Sardinia, and southwest France have higher

than normal average longevity. And wines from those regions, Corder and

colleagues found, had a 2- to 4-fold higher inhibitory effect on

endothelin-1 and significantly higher oligomeric procyanidin levels than

wines from Australia, Europe, South America, the US, and Sardinia.

Corder and his associates maintain that traditional wine-making methods and

use of the flavonoid-rich grape Tannat commonly grown in southwest France

result in high levels of oligomeric procyanidins in the local wine.

The researchers are hopeful that further investigation of oligomeric

procyanidins-rich wines and foods will provide insight into how blood vessel

function might be optimally maintained.

SOURCE: Nature, November 30, 2006.

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