The effect of Graciano (GRA, Spanish valuable variety of limited production in Mediterranean countries) vs. Cabernet Sauvignon (CS, world-wide known French variety) on the phenolic content total ...polyphenols (TP), total anthocyanins (TA), catechins (CAT) and proanthocyanidins (PRO) of Tempranillo wines (TEM-BASE, a largely cultivated Spanish variety) was studied in blends prepared with 25 and 10 % of each variety after 4, 6, 9, 16.5 and 23 months of bottle ageing. Significant differences among wines (blends and base wine) according to the »blend« factor were observed for CAT and TA. Besides, although the evolution trend during wine ageing of different families of phenolic compounds studied was similar in the blends and base wine, different blends presented a faster anthocyanin disappearance kinetics than the base wine, probably due to their higher CAT content, which may favour the progress of certain anthocyanin condensation reactions during ageing in the bottle. This effect was slightly more pronounced in the TEM-GRA blends than in the TEM-CS ones. A further study of the phenolic composition of the monovarietal wines used for blending, as well as of the grapes (skins and seeds) from which these wines were elaborated, revealed that the blending effect on CAT could be associated with higher concentration of these compounds in Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon grape seeds in comparison with Tempranillo. Finally, the findings of this work scientifically confirm that, in terms of the phenolic content, Graciano wines possess properties similar to Cabernet Sauvignon for blending with Tempranillo.
In this work, 8 different solvents/mixtures have been tested for the extraction of antioxidants from by-products derived from the industrial processing of almonds (skin or seed coating, brown hull, ...and green shell cover or mesocarp). The oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) as well as the phenolics content of the extracts has been determined. The extracting solution methanol/HCl (1000:1, v/v) was the most effective for the almond skin and shell, whereas, for the hull, it corresponded to acetone/water (50:50, v/v), resulting in ORACFluorescein values of 0.467, 1.45 and 0.0504 mmol of Trolox/mg, respectively. At the same time, the mixtures acetone/water exhibited the highest content of total polyphenols and proanthocyanidins for the three by-products studied. Finally, results have shown that the by-products derived from almond processing, in particular, the skin and shell, posses a similar antioxidant capacity to that of grape by-products which are currently used in the development (or production) of antioxidant products.
Epidemiologic studies have suggested that flavonoid intake plays a critical role in the prevention of coronary heart disease. Because atherosclerosis is considered a low-grade inflammatory disease, ...some feeding trials have analyzed the effects of cocoa (an important source of flavonoids) on inflammatory biomarkers, but the results have been controversial.
The objective was to evaluate the effects of chronic cocoa consumption on cellular and serum biomarkers related to atherosclerosis in high-risk patients.
Forty-two high-risk volunteers (19 men and 23 women; mean ± SD age: 69.7 ± 11.5 y) were included in a randomized crossover feeding trial. All subjects received 40 g cocoa powder with 500 mL skim milk/d (C+M) or only 500 mL skim milk/d (M) for 4 wk. Before and after each intervention period, cellular and serum inflammatory biomarkers related to atherosclerosis were evaluated.
Adherence to the dietary protocol was excellent. No significant changes in the expression of adhesion molecules on T lymphocyte surfaces were found between the C+M and M groups. However, in monocytes, the expression of VLA-4, CD40, and CD36 was significantly lower (P = 0.005, 0.028, and 0.001, respectively) after C+M intake than after M intake. In addition, serum concentrations of the soluble endothelium-derived adhesion molecules P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 were significantly lower (both P = 0.007) after C+M intake than after M intake.
These results suggest that the intake of cocoa polyphenols may modulate inflammatory mediators in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease. These antiinflammatory effects may contribute to the overall benefits of cocoa consumption against atherosclerosis. This trial was registered in the Current Controlled Trials at London, International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number, at controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN75176807.
The evolution of anthocyanins and pyranoanthocyanins (as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography) in young red wines from Vitis vinifera L. cv Tempranillo, Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon ...(vintage 2000) from Navarra (Spain) was studied during 26 months of aging in the bottle. For the anthocyanin pigments of grape origin, a progressive decrease in their concentration, corresponding to first-order kinetics, was observed during this period. Independently of the anthocyanin structure studied, grape anthocyanins in Tempranillo wine presented twofold slower kinetics than those in Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, which exhibited a very similar disappearance rate. Acylated anthocyanins presented a slightly higher disappearance rate than the nonacylated ones, indicating the possible hydrolysis of the former into the latter forms. However, no distinction was observed in the kinetics of the different anthocyanidin forms (delphinidins, petunidins, peonidins and malvidins). These results indicate that during aging under nonoxidative conditions (bottle), the chemical reactivity of grape anthocyanins in wine is influenced by the grape variety, a factor that imposes over the stability associated with the chemical structure of each anthocyanin form. In relation to the evolution of pyranoanthocyanins, anthocyanin-pyruvic acid adducts presented a similar or lower disappearance rate than their corresponding anthocyanin precursors during the first months of aging in the bottle, while anthocyanin-vinylphenol and anthocyanin-vinylflavanol adducts did not exhibit significant variations during the whole period studied.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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