Effects of red wine consumption on kidney FA composition

Consumption of Chinese tea-flavor liquor improves circulating insulin levels without affecting hepatic lipid metabolism-related gene expression in Sprague-Dawley rats

Objective. To examine the effect of two Chinese liquors with quite different nonalcoholic components on insulin sensitivity, tissue polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and hepatic lipid metabolism in SD rats. Methods. Thirty-three SD rats were randomized into four groups and maintained in each treatment for 10 weeks: Chinese tea-flavor liquor (TFL, n = 9), traditional Chinese liquor (TCL, n = 8), ethanol control (EC, n = 8), and water control (WC, n = 8). Results. TFL significantly decreased plasma insulin (P = 0.009) and marginally decreased Homeostatic Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) (P = 0.05), compared with WC. Hepatic total and n-6 PUFA compositions were significantly decreased in TFL, TCL, and EC groups compared with WC group (P < 0.05). TFL significantly increased kidney n-6 PUFA (P = 0.05) and total PUFA (P = 0.039), compared with EC group. EC group showed significant higher gene expressions of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and steroid response element-binding protein (1c and 2), while there were no significant differences of these gene expressions in TFL or TCL group compared with WC. Conclusions. TFL has a beneficial effect on metabolic disorder in relation to improved circulating insulin levels without affecting hepatic lipid metabolism-related gene expressions in rats.

Alcohol induced effects on kidney

After administration ethanol and its metabolites go through kidneys and are excreted into urine, and its content in the urine is higher than that of the blood and the liver. Chronic ethanol administration decreases the renal tubular reabsorption and reduces renal function. Multiple functional abnormalities of renal tubules may be associated with ethanol-induced changes in membrane composition and lipid peroxidation. The vulnerability of the kidney to oxidative damage has been partly attributed to its high content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Renal ultra structural abnormalities due to ethanol exposure may be important in the genesis of functional disturbances. Increased oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction with their complex interrelationships are relevant aspects of atherogenesis in chronic renal failure. Antioxidants, particularly polyphenols are expected to decrease the vulnerability of the kidney to oxidative challenges.

Oxidative stress and protective effects of polyphenols: comparative studies in human and rodent kidney. A review

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a key role in the pathophysiological processes of a wide range of renal diseases. Thus, antioxidants are expected to decrease the vulnerability of the kidney to oxidative challenges. Polyphenols, particularly abundant in red wine, could act as ROS scavengers, iron chelators and enzyme modulators. In addition, chronic exposure to moderate amounts of ethanol results in increased activity of the renal antioxidant enzymes, further supporting a renoprotective effect of red wine based on its antioxidant properties. An enhancement of plasma antioxidant capacity following red wine consumption has been reported both in man and rodents, thereby providing a contributory factor to its renoprotective effect because the kidney is a highly perfused organ. Although phenol concentration of red wine does not influence the activity of antioxidant enzymes of the kidney, the concentration of these compounds is negatively correlated with tissue lipid peroxidation, assessed by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and positively correlated with the antioxidant capacity of plasma. Moreover, amelioration of myoglobinuric renal damage was found in rats following chronic exposure to flavonol-rich red wine. Also, pretreatment with resveratrol, or other red wine polyphenols, decreased kidney damage caused by ischaemia-reperfusion. The aim of the present review is to examine the pathophysiological basis of the renoprotective effect of red wine in man and rodents, based on functional, biochemical and ultrastructural evidence.

Lifestyle modification and progressive renal failure

There is increasing evidence that lifestyle factors impact on the risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the risk of progression of CKD. Equally important is the consideration that patients with CKD are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than to reach the stage of end-stage renal failure. It is advantageous that manoeuvres that interfere with progression at the same time also reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. Lifestyle factors that aggravate progression include, among others, smoking, obesity and dietary salt intake. Alcohol consumption, according to some preliminary information, has a bimodal relationship to cardiovascular risk and progression, with moderate consumption being protective.