Wine and Olive Oil Phenolic Compounds Interaction in Humans

Biomarkers of moderate alcohol intake and alcoholic beverages: a systematic literature review

The predominant source of alcohol in the diet is alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, spirits and liquors, sweet wine, and ciders. Self-reported alcohol intakes are likely to be influenced by measurement error, thus affecting the accuracy and precision of currently established epidemiological associations between alcohol itself, alcoholic beverage consumption, and health or disease. Therefore, a more objective assessment of alcohol intake would be very valuable, which may be established through biomarkers of food intake (BFIs). Several direct and indirect alcohol intake biomarkers have been proposed in forensic and clinical contexts to assess recent or longer-term intakes. Protocols for performing systematic reviews in this field, as well as for assessing the validity of candidate BFIs, have been developed within the Food Biomarker Alliance (FoodBAll) project. The aim of this systematic review is to list and validate biomarkers of ethanol intake per se excluding markers of abuse, but including biomarkers related to common categories of alcoholic beverages. Validation of the proposed candidate biomarker(s) for alcohol itself and for each alcoholic beverage was done according to the published guideline for biomarker reviews. In conclusion, common biomarkers of alcohol intake, e.g., as ethyl glucuronide, ethyl sulfate, fatty acid ethyl esters, and phosphatidyl ethanol, show considerable inter-individual response, especially at low to moderate intakes, and need further development and improved validation, while BFIs for beer and wine are highly promising and may help in more accurate intake assessments for these specific beverages.

Correlation Analysis between Dietary Intake of Tyrosols and Their Food Sources and Urinary Excretion of Tyrosol and Hydroxytyrosol in a European Population

This study analyzed the correlations between the acute and habitual intake of dietary tyrosols, their main food sources, and 24 h urine excretions of tyrosol (Tyr) and hydroxytyrosol (OHTyr) in participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (EPIC). Participants (n = 419) were healthy men and women aged from 34 to 73 years from 8 EPIC centers belonging to France, Italy, and Germany. Acute and habitual dietary data were collected using a standardized 24 h dietary recall software and validated country-specific dietary questionnaires, respectively. The intake of 13 dietary tyrosols was estimated using the Phenol-Explorer database. Excretions of Tyr and OHTyr in a single 24 h urine sample were analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry. Urinary excretions of Tyr, OHTyr, and their sum (Tyr + OHTyr) correlated more strongly with their corresponding acute (rhopartial~0.63) rather than habitual intakes (rhopartial~0.47). In addition, individual and combined urinary excretions of Tyr and OHTyr were weakly to moderately correlated with the acute and habitual intake of other individual tyrosol precursors (rhopartial = 0.10-0.44) and especially with major food sources, such as wine (rhopartial = 0.41-0.58), olive oil (rhopartial = 0.25-0.44), and beer (rhopartial = 0.14-0.23). Urinary Tyr + OHTyr excretions were similarly correlated with the acute intake of total tyrosols but differently correlated with food sources among countries. Based on these results, we conclude that 24 h urinary excretions of Tyr + OHTyr could be proposed as biomarkers of total tyrosol intake, preferably for acute intakes.

Contribution of Biotransformations Carried Out by the Microbiota, Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes, and Transport Proteins to the Biological Activities of Phytochemicals Found in the Diet

The consumption of dietary phytochemicals has been associated with several health benefits and relevant biological activities. It is postulated that biotransformations of these compounds regulated by the microbiota, Phase I/II reactions, transport proteins, and deconjugating enzymes contribute not only to their metabolic clearance but also, in some cases, to their bioactivation. A number of factors (age, genetics, sex, physiopathological conditions, and the interplay with other dietary phytochemicals) modulating metabolic activities are important sources and contributors to the interindividual variability observed in clinical studies evaluating the biological activities of phytochemicals. In this review, we discuss all the processes that can affect the bioaccessibility and beneficial effects of these bioactive compounds. Herein, we argue that the role of these factors must be further studied to correctly understand and predict the effects observed following the intake of phytochemicals. This is, in particular, with regard to in vitro investigations, which have shown great inconsistency with preclinical and clinical studies. The complexity of in vivo metabolic activity and biotransformation should therefore be considered in the interpretation of results in vitro and their translation to human physiopathology.

Tyrosol as a Neuroprotector: Strong Effects of a "Weak" Antioxidant

The use of neuroprotective agents for stroke is pathogenetically justified, but the translation of the results of preclinical studies of neuroprotectors into clinical practice has been a noticeable failure. One of the leading reasons for these failures is the one-target mechanism of their activity. p-Tyrosol (Tyr), a biophenol, is present in a variety of natural sources, mainly in foods, such as olive oil and wine. Tyr has a wide spectrum of biological activity: antioxidant, stress-protective, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, cardioprotective, neuroprotective and many others. This review analyzes data on the neuroprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and other kinds of Tyr activity as well as data on the pharmacokinetics of the substance. The data presented in the review substantiate the acceptability of tyr as the basis for the development of a new neuroprotective drug with multitarget activity for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Tyr is a promising molecule for the development of an effective neuroprotective agent for use in ischemic stroke.

Polyphenols, Olive oil and Colonrectal cancer: the effect of Mediterranean Diet in the prevention

In recent years, scientific research has shown that the incidence of various diseases, including some cancers, is relatively low in the Mediterranean Countries compared to that of other European countries or North America. This support the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet, rich in bioactive food components, including methyl group donors, polyphenols, and fatty acids has efficacy in terms of prevention. Few studies evaluated the efficacy of Med Diet on colon cancer however they all support the beneficial effects of this Diet in preventing cancer.

Nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics and phenotypic outcomes of dietary low-dose alcohol consumption in the suppression and induction of cancer development: evidence from in vitro studies

It is known that the intake of alcoholic beverages may impair genetic and epigenetic regulatory events with consequent crucial effects on cell phenotypes and that its association with selected genotypes can lead to a different risk of cancer in the population. The aim of this review is to pick up selected studies on this topic and recapitulate some of the biochemical and nutrigenetic/nutrigenomic aspects involved in the impact of dietary low-dose alcohol consumption on the switching-on or -off of tumorigenic pathways. These include i) the existence of predisposing or protective human genotypes and the relationship between dietary compounds and alcohol in the promotion or inhibition of carcinogenesis; ii) the effects of other components of alcoholic drinks in the modulation of the expression of oncogenes and oncosuppressors, the autophagic flux and the onset of apoptosis, with examples of their cytospecificity; and iii) the role of alcoholic beverage consumption within particular dietary regimens, including the Mediterranean diet. Taking all the data into account, several alcohol-associated bioactive dietary compounds appear capable to modulate peculiar intracellular pathways predisposing to or protecting from cancer. Advances in the nutrigenetic, nutrigenomic and nutriepigenetic knowledge complementing the biochemical and molecular approaches will help in unveiling their impact on health outcome.

Olive oil limited motor disruption and neuronal damage in parkinsonism induced by MPTP administration

Some vegetable oils show beneficial effects in modulating neurodegeneration; in this work, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of corn and olive oils against neurodegenerative processes using the acute parkinsonism murine model induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in C57BL6 mice. The effects of corn and olive oils were quantified by the performance of mice in the open field and rotarod, and grasp strength tests and neuronal survival in the substantia nigra and striatum were determined by immunohistochemistry. Extra-virgin olive oil decreased the toxicity induced by MPTP administration judged by the performance in the behavioral motor tests and the number of total neurons in the analyzed brain regions. In contrast, corn oil only produced discrete changes in the behavioral and histological evaluations. Despite the numerous benefits of olive oil, its active substances that confer desirable effects and their mechanism of action remain unclear. Our observations can help to understand the ameliorative effects of some natural oils on neurodegeneration induced by some toxins, particularly the attenuation of neural damage related to toxin-induced parkinsonism or other pathologies that comprise neuronal death and motor disruption.

Special Issue: Wine and Vine Components and Health

There is much literature on the topic of wine and health dating back to the days of Hippocrates, and it is believed that there are unlimited varieties of wine, allowing the association of senses, nutrition, and hedonism [...].