For the last few years there has been a growing body of evidence that has linked red wine polyphenols to the reduction of cardiovascular disease. The mechanism behind the correlation has not been clear, however some suspect it has to do with lipid peroxidation, the oxidative degradation of ingested fats. During the digestion of dietary fat, free radicals from the fat "pull" electrons from cell lipid membranes, thereby damaging the cells. A new study published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology tested this theory.

The researchers designed a study to measure the malondialdehyde (MDA) that formed in subjects after consuming a fat-laden meal. MDA is the end product of lipid peroxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. While the study was small, involving just ten healthy individuals, 6 men and 4 women, the results were remarkable. The researchers gave each of the participants three different meals. Meal 1, the control meal, consisted of cooked turkey and water. Meal 2 consisted of cooked turkey meat with one tablespoon of concentrated wine polyphenols added after cooking and a 200ml glass of red wine. The final of the three meals consisted of turkey meat that had been soaked in concentrated wine polyphenols prior to cooking and a 200ml glass of red wine.

Blood and urine levels of all the participants were tested for MDA before and after the meals. At baseline, the participants' MDA levels were in the range of 30 to 70 nM. After the fist meal, plasma MDA levels spiked by as much as 160nM. After the second meal "there was a 75% reduction in the absorption of MDA,"¹ with plasma MDA levels only increasing 40nM. Even more amazing was that after the final meal, there was no elevation of plasma MDA at all!

This study "suggests that red wine polyphenols exert a beneficial effect" by inhibiting the absorption of MDA, a known lipotoxic agent. That is not to say that if you soak a hot dog in red wine before you cook it, it's no longer bad for you. However, this does suggest that it is the polyphenol content of wine that provides cardiac benefits, by reducing lipid peroxidation through its antioxidant action.

Our OPC Grape Seed Extract contains red wine extract, and is rich in the types of polyphenols found in wine.

1. Gorelik, S., M. Ligumsky, et al. (2008). "A novel function of red wine polyphenols in humans: prevention of absorption of cytotoxic lipid peroxidation products." Faseb J 22(1): 41-46.