Wine by-products with health benefits

Strong free radical scavenging activity was ascribed to procyanidins in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, well-known epidemiological studies were related to red wine consumption and a possible link to the reduced incidence of heart disease in France. Later, a strong in vitro relationship was shown with red wine phenols in reducing oxidation of human LDL. Since a major class of phenols in red wine is procyanidins, mostly extracted from the skins and seeds of red grape, a very opportunistic and viable business has emerged within the wine industry. This industry fractionates/produces grape seed and grape skin extracts from winery waste as nutritional adjuncts for the rapidly growing nutraceutical industry. Such products from seed, skin and wine are finding increasing applications as dietary supplements for disease prevention and for claims involving structure/function relationships. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.