Intake of Purple Grape Juice as a Hepatoprotective Agent in Wistar Rats

Abstract

Grape juice is a source of polyphenols, as catechin, anthocyanidins, resveratrol, and others. Some health benefits have been attributed to these compounds (e.g., antioxidant and antitumorigenic properties). In this study, we investigated the possible antioxidant activity of two different grape juices: organic purple grape juice and conventional purple grape juice. The antioxidant activity of both grape juices was evaluated by an animal model of three groups: control and organic and conventional juices. After 30 days, all animals were sacrificed, and blood and liver were collected to evaluate lipid peroxidation level (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances [TBARS] assay), protein oxidative level (carbonyl assay), and catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. The group treated with organic grape juice showed the highest SOD and CAT activities in both plasma and liver when compared with the conventional and control groups (P < .05). In plasma, we observed a positive correlation among SOD and CAT activities, resveratrol, and all anthocyanin contents, suggesting that these polyphenols may be, at least in part, responsible for this increased antioxidant defense. The grape juices were capable of reducing carbonyl and lipid peroxidation levels in plasma and liver. However, in plasma, the organic group showed lower carbonyl and TBARS levels when compared to the conventional grape juice group (P < .05). Our findings suggest that the intake of purple grape juice, especially of organic juice, induces a better antioxidant capacity when compared to conventional juice and that this may be an important issue for further investigations in the area of biochemical functional foods.

Hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, and renal-protective effects of organic and conventional grapevine leaf extracts (Vitis labrusca var. Bordo) on Wistar rat tissues

“…1). These data agree with our previous studies with organic and conventional purple grape juice (Dani et al 2007(Dani et al , 2008. One possible explanation for the better results obtained for the organic extract is that, as pesticides are not used, the plants are more susceptible to the action of phytopathogenic organisms, resulting in the production of larger amounts of phenolic compounds, such as resveratrol, as a mean to defend itself (Soleas et al 1997, Bourn andPrescott 2002).…”

“…This kind of product has shown some differences in the phenolic content when compared with conventional procedures (Asami et al 2003, Dani et al 2007. In another study from our group, organic and conventional grape juices showed an important hepatoprotective activity in rats (Dani et al 2008). However, there are no data in the literature about grapevine leaves from different cultivars (organic and conventional).…”

Evaluation of antioxidant activity of grapevine leaves extracts (Vitis labrusca) in liver of Wistar rats

“…3c) levels and both extracts were able to prevent this increase. grape juices (Dani et al 2007(Dani et al , 2008a and grapevine leaves extracts (Dani et al 2010). With regards to the content of catechin, the conventional extract showed higher values than the organic extract, which corroborates fi ndings in grapevine leaves extracts, both organic and conventional, of V. labrusca (Dani et al 2010, Oliboni et al 2011.…”

“…It is known that organic farming provokes an increase in concentrations of total polyphenols (Soleas et al 1997, Bourn andPrescott 2002). This result was already observed in grapevine leaves from Vitis labrusca (Dani et al 2010), and in grape juices, where organic juice was shown to be richer in polyphenols than conventional juice (Dani et al 2008a). Grapevines leaves are rich in phenolic compounds and have shown signifi cant antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo (Monagas et al 2006, Kosar et al 2007, Orhan et al 2007, Pari and Suresh 2008, Dani et al 2010, Oliboni et al 2011.…”

“…Based on a previous study (Dani et al 2008a), the animals were divided into three experimental groups (n=10/each). Group 1 (Control) received saline (0.9%); Group 2 received conventional grapevine leaf extract (30 mg/kg); and group 3 received organic extract (30 mg/kg).…”