Levels of Stilbene Oligomers and Astilbin in French Varietal Wines and in Grapes during Noble Rot Development

Abstract

Phenolics from grapes and wines can play a role against oxidation and development of atherosclerosis. Stilbenes have been shown to have cancer chemopreventive activity and to protect lipoproteins from oxidative damage. A method for the direct determination of stilbene oligomers (viniferin and pallidol) as well as astilbin in different types of wine using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection is described. In a survey of 21 commercial wines from the south of France, levels of pallidol and viniferin are reported for the first time in different types of wines. Viniferin was found to be present only in red and botrytized sweet white wines with levels between 0.1 and 1.63 mg/L; pallidol was not found in dry and sweet white wines but only in wines made by maceration with stems, with levels between 0.38 and 2.22 mg/L. Highest levels of astilbin were found in Egiodola (15.13 mg/L), Merlot (11.61 mg/L), and Cabernet Sauvignon (8.24 mg/L) for red wines and in Sauvignon (5.04 mg/L) for white varietal wines. Astilbin levels are highest for recent vintages, but pallidol is not found in older vintages. During noble rot development in Sauvignon or Sémillon grapes from the Sauternes area, levels of trans-astringin, trans-resveratrol, trans-piceid, and pallidol are quite low (<0.5 mg/kg of grapes). Viniferin and astilbin levels become optimum at 2 and 30 mg/kg, respectively, during spot grape and speckle grape stages.

Greater Effectiveness of ε-Viniferin in Red Wine Than Its Monomer Resveratrol for Inhibiting Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Migration

“…red wine and the stage of noble rot development of the grapes, 15,16) these data suggest that both "-viniferin and resveratrol were key compounds preventing the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and that "-viniferin may also be a strong candidate to explain the ''French paradox.'' Our data suggest that resveratrol activated Akt with subsequent accumulation of Nrf2 in the nucleus followed by HO-1 expression, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of VSMCs.…”

“…In contrast to resveratrol, the functions of its oligomers, including "-viniferin, a dehydrodimer of resveratrol, have not yet been well investigated, although the "-viniferin content is comparable to or higher than that of resveratrol, depending on the type of red wine and the stage of noble rot development of the grapes; 15,16) "-viniferin is formed from resveratrol by oxidative processes. As examples, the red wine named Merlot 2000 contains 4.32 mg/L of "-viniferin and 3.04 mg/L of trans-resveratrol, while the red wine called Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 contains 1.23 mg/L of "-viniferin and an undetectable level of resveratrol.…”

“…16) The content of "-viniferin during noble rot development in Sauvignon and Semillon grapes respectively reaches six-fold and 18-fold that of trans-resveratrol. 15) Several biological functions of "-viniferin have so far been demonstrated; for example, "-viniferin exhibited hepatoprotective activity in cultured rat hepatocytes, 17) and had a potent inhibitory effect against lipoxygenase and the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein and highdensity lipoprotein. 18,19) Resveratrol and its oligomers, including "-viniferin, have also been suggested to show anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on cancer cells such as human and murine leukemia cells, [20][21][22] human hepatoma HepG2 cells, 23) and human colon cancer cells.…”

Terroir - Myth and/or Reality - Outstanding Marketing Idea? A Review

“…Direct insolation of berries increases soluble phenolics (Crippen and Morrison, 1986;Bergqvist et al, 2001). Biotic stress fosters the synthesis of resveratrol (Jeandet et al, 1995;Landrault et al, 2002). Deloire et al (2004) explain the relationship between stress, berry size and accumulation of anthocyanins.…”

ε-Viniferin Is More Effective Than Its Monomer Resveratrol in Improving the Functions of Vascular Endothelial Cells and the Heart

“…"-Viniferin content is comparable to or greater than resveratrol content, depending on the type of red wine and the stage of noble rot development of grapes. 11,12) Tran et al 13) indicated that "-viniferin has enhanced antioxidant activity as compared to resveratrol. Mi et al 14) demonstrated that "-viniferin was more potent than resveratrol in inducing the vasorelaxation of isolated thoracic aortas.…”