Study Highlights Positive Effects of Wine Antioxidants

A new study highlighting the positive health effects of a wine enriched with polyphenols, which are antioxidants, has just been published in Food & Function, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The research evaluated the effects of moderate consumption of a reduced-alcohol wine enriched with polyphenols derived from grape skins, compared with a traditional wine. This was assessed through a randomized clinical trial involving adults who were overweight or met at least one diagnostic criterion for metabolic syndrome, such as elevated fasting blood glucose.

Participants drank one glass of wine (125 mL for women and 250 mL for men) with lunch and dinner for five to six weeks. At the end of this period, the results showed improvements in some of the health parameters measured, including reduced levels of alanine aminotransferase, a marker of liver health. In addition, unlike the control wine for certain parameters, the polyphenol-enriched wine prevented the increase in uric acid levels observed in the control group and reduced plasma kynurenine levels, both of which are associated with inflammatory processes. 

“The most significant contribution of this study is that it provides scientific evidence obtained in humans through a controlled clinical trial on the effects of consuming a wine characterized by its high polyphenol content on certain biomarkers of both liver health and inflammation in blood serum and plasma. The results open up opportunities for further research into the potential of antioxidants found in grapes and into how food innovation can contribute to the development of products with differentiated characteristics,” said Felipe Ávila, PhD in Chemistry, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Universidad de Talca, and a specialist in oxidative stress, antioxidants and bioactive food compounds. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile y Universidad de Talca and co-funded by CORFO (independent Chilean government agency that supports entrepreneurship, innovation, and the country’s economic competitiveness). The Viña Concha y Toro’s Center for Research & Innovation supplied the wine enriched with polyphenols extracted from grape skins, a common by-product of winemaking, using a technique developed in its laboratories. This increased the wine’s concentration of polyphenols, anthocyanins and flavonoids, as well as its antioxidant capacity. 

The research was also selected for the cover of the Food & Function issue, a distinction reserved for work of particular scientific relevance. 

The publication marks another milestone for the Center for Research and Innovation, reaffirming its commitment to science-based innovation and to developing solutions that contribute to a sustainable future for the industry.

“This publication demonstrates how research and innovation can generate new knowledge from resources inherent to winemaking. We are proud that work carried out in Chile has been recognised by a prestigious international scientific journal and also selected for the cover of the issue,” said Gerard Casaubon, one of the authors at the Center for Research & Innovation.