Potere antiossidante di vini pugliesi

Antioxidant power of Apulian wines

¹ Varvaglione Vigne & Vini Srl, C.da Santa Lucia, 74020 Leporano (TA), Italia
² CREA-VE Turi, Via Casamassima 148, 70016 Turi (BA), Italia
³ Già direttore CREA-UTV Turi, Via Casamassima 148, 70016 Turi (BA), Italia

Riassunto

I composti polifenolici presenti nell'uva e nel vino sono stati ampiamente caratterizzati ed è noto che possiedono un alto potenziale antiossidante. Pochi studi sono stati, invece, eseguiti sul potere antiossidante dei vini pugliesi. In questo studio abbiamo esaminato il poter antiossidante di ventisette vini pugliesi, prodotti nel rispetto dei locali disciplinari per la denominazione di origine, DOP e IGP, rappresentativi di uno dei territori più importanti dell'enologia nazionale italiana. I vini ottenuti dalle uve del territorio pugliese, in particolare quelli rossi, sono ottime fonti di sostanze antiossidanti. La ricerca conferma l'elevata correlazione tra il contenuto in PFT e l'attività antiossidante misurata con il metodo ORAC (r = 0.963). Minore correlazione è stata evidenziata tra i PFT e il metodo DPPH (r = 0.538).

Abstract

In the last few years, the market has moved forward a healthier way of consuming food and drink. For instance, the public attention is more focused on the positive effect that the diet has on the human health and wellbeing. Regard the wine consumption, there is the tendency of drinking in a more moderate way, to limit the negative effects generated by the excess of alcohol consumption. At the same time, the focus on wine's positive effects has widely increased. In fact, several studies have investigated the effect that a moderate and constant consumption of wine has on metabolism and on the pathophysiological mechanisms mainly associated with cardiovascular diseases, highlighting the positive effects of polyphenols on the inflammatory and hemostatic process (Fragopoulou et al., 2018). The exact mechanism through which the polyphenols work has not been explained so far. In vitro experimentation showed that the polyphenols work as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory end antithrombotic, since they prevent or postpone the atherosclerotic process. The effect of the wine on the human health is strictly related with its polyphenolic profile. The polyphenols content in the berries, and therefore in the wine that is produced, depends on several factors: the variety, the pedo-climatic features of the vineyard, the cultivation techniques, the different vinification methods and the affination techniques. Consequently, the quality of the grape, and the production process are intimately connected with the characteristics of the wine and, consequently, they also have a significant influence on the health aspects. Therefore, it is of considerable interest to investigate the antioxidant power of the wines produced in our country. In fact, Italy is the leading country in world wine production and, within the nation, the Apulian production is gradually growing in importance. Up to now, only are few studies have investigated the relationship between the polyphenolic profile, and the antioxidant properties of the Puglia wines. In this work, we investigated the relationship between the polyphenolic content and the antioxidant power of thirty wines made in Puglia, produced following the local specifications for the DOP and IGP origin denominations. We choose among different varieties (Primitivo, Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera di Brindisi/Lecce, Aglianico, Susumaniello, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Fiano, Falanghina, Verdeca, Minutolo, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, etc.) differing in color (red, white, rosé), age (2018, 2017, 2016 e 2015), production method (organic and regular), and wine aging in barrels. All the wines have been produced in “Varvaglione Vigne e Vini Srl” in Leporano (TA). The polyphenol total amount has been quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu spectrophotometric method. In order to investigate the different antioxidant mechanisms, the antioxidant power has been quantified with two different methods described in literature: the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) and the DPPH ((2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) test,. Our results show that Aglianico, Cabernet Sauvignon and Primitivo have a high polyphenols content and a high antioxidant power. The ORAC value is about 60,000 µM TE/L for the red wines, and about 4000 µM TE/L for the white wines. As for the total content of polyphenols, also the antioxidant activity varies considerably depending on the variety used. For example, for the red wines, the value changes from 42,000 μM TE/L for the Aleatico, and about 78000 μM TE/L for the Aglianico. For all the wines analyzed, a high correlation between ORAC values and the total content of polyphenols was found, with a correlation coefficient equal to 0.963.