Nutrigenomics to reveal the effects of grape consumption in healthy subjects

¹ Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology, 70010 Turi (BA), Italy
² National Institute of Gastroenterology "S. de Bellis" Research Hospital, Laboratory of Nutritional Biochemistry, 70013 Castellana Grotte (Ba), Italy
³ National Institute of Gastroenterology "S. de Bellis" Research Hospital, Ambulatory of Clinical Nutrition, 70013 Castellana Grotte (Ba), Italy
⁴ International Organisation of Vine and Wine, Sub-Commission' Table grapes, raisins and unfermented vine products' Scientific secretary, Parigi, France

Abstract

The Mediterranean diet places fruit and vegetables as the basis of daily nutrition. Table grape is a typical fruit of the Mediterranean tradition and is consumed worldwide. The CREA Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology has conducted nutrigenomics studies in recent years to investigate the effects of table grapes on human health. This note summarises two trials in which healthy subjects ate the black seedless grape Autumn Royal for three consecutive weeks. For our first nutrigenomic study, we used the microarray technique to analyze thousands of genes' expressions simultaneously. The results showed that 463 genes were modulated, and one month after the end of the grape-rich diet, this number almost doubled, reaching 849 genes. Furthermore, more than 200 of these genes are non-coding RNAs important in regulating gene expression. The second nutrigenomic study was conducted to evaluate the effects of grape intake on the expression of microRNAs, identifying 20 circulating microRNAs modulated, most of which were implicated in cancer development. Our results showed that grape intake exerts beneficial effects by modulating genes involved in critical physiological processes such as the immune response, inflammation, autophagy, DNA repair, and mitochondrial functionality.