jf0607157_si_001.pdf (38.62 kB)
From Field to Health: A Simple Way To Increase the Nutraceutical Content of Grape As Shown by NO-Dependent Vascular Relaxation
journal contribution
posted on 2006-07-26, 00:00 authored by Francesca Fumagalli, Mara Rossoni, Marcello Iriti, Antonio di Gennaro, Franco Faoro, Emanuele Borroni, Michele Borgo, Attilio Scienza, Angelo Sala, Giancarlo FolcoPolyphenolic grapevine components involved in plant resistance against pathogens possess various
pharmacological properties that include nitric oxide (NO)-dependent vasodilation and anti-inflammatory
and free radical scavenging activities, which may explain the protective effect of moderate red wine
consumption against cardiovascular disease. The aim of this work was (a) to verify the possibility
that preharvest treatments of grapevine with a plant activator, benzo-(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic
acid S-methyl ester (BTH), could lead to an enriched nutraceutical potential of wine and (b) to
characterize the profile of metabolites responsible for pharmacological activity. Plant spraying at the
end of veraison, with a water suspension of BTH (0.3 mM), led to increased whole anthocyanin content
as confirmed by HPLC comparative analysis. Extracts from berry skins of BTH-treated grapevines
caused NO-dependent vasorelaxation, with a concentration−response curve that was significantly
shifted to the left of the control non-BTH-treated curve. Moreover, 1:1000 dilutions of berry extracts
from BTH-treated plants significantly increased basal production of guanosine 3‘,5‘-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) in human vascular endothelial cells when compared to the corresponding extracts
of untreated plants. These results show that BTH treatment increases anthocyanin content of grape
extracts, as well as their ability to induce NO-mediated vasoprotection. No increase of anthocyanin
content was observed in the wine extracts from BTH-treated vines. It is concluded that BTH treatment
could be exploited to increase the nutraceutical potential of grapes.
Keywords: Nitric oxide; vasodilation; plant activator; polyphenols; grape pharmaconutrients