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Study Suggests Why Red Wine Does A Heart Good - By Suzanne Rostler
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - UK researchers have
zeroed in on compounds in red wine that battle a protein linked to heart
disease--a finding that provides clues to why the French have relatively
low rates of heart disease despite a national diet rich in creamy cheese
and buttery desserts. The investigators found that polyphenols--compounds
in grape skins and present in red wine--decrease the production of a protein
that causes blood vessels to constrict and reduces the flow of oxygen
to the heart. The protein, endothelin-1, is believed to play a key role
in the development of heart disease, explain Dr. Roger Corder and colleagues
from Queen Mary University of London.
Their findings support the results of earlier studies showing that a
moderate intake of red wine may lower the risk of heart disease. But while
these studies focused on the antioxidant properties of polyphenols--their
ability to quench disease-causing free radicals in the body--the results
of the new study suggest a new mechanism by which red wine might bring
benefits. According to the report in the December 20/27th issue of Nature,
red wine polyphenols inhibit protein tyrosine kinases, a group of enzymes
that play a key role in cell regulation. Compounds that inhibit these
enzymes have been shown to suppress endothelin production, Corder told
Reuters Health.
We believe that red wines contain specific polyphenols that inhibit protein
tyrosine kinases, and that this effect leads to suppression of endothelin
synthesis,” he said in an interview. “The effects we describe
are completely unrelated to any antioxidant properties of polyphenols.'”
White wine is made without the
use of grape skins, while red wine is made by fermenting the juice from
grapes along with the skins. Grape skin provides red wine with its color,
and also contains the highest concentration of polyphenols. Other alcoholic
beverages do not contain these compounds. “Consumption of one to
two glasses of red wine per day with food might be considered part of
a diet to reduce heart disease, provided there are no health grounds for
avoiding alcohol, and that the person is not going to drive or operate
equipment,” Corder said. The study findings are based on experiments
with cow artery cells treated with alcohol-free extracts of various red,
white and rose wines. The researchers also tried an extract of red grape
juice, which inhibited endothelin production, but much less so than red
wine did.
Source : Nature 2001;414:863-864.
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