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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Produce Safety and Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #303578

Title: Antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal properties of wines and winery byproducts in relation to their flavonoid content

Author
item Friedman, Mendel

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/2014
Publication Date: 6/19/2014
Citation: Friedman, M. 2014. Antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal properties of wines and winery byproducts in relation to their flavonoid content. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. DOI: 10.1021/jf501266s.

Interpretive Summary: Food safety scientists, regulatory agencies, microbiologists, virologists, epidemiologists, nutritionists, physicians, and the general public have been increasingly concerned about the growing number of foodborne illness caused by some pathogens. Antibiotic resistance of some pathogens associated with foodborne illness caused by the overconsumption of medicinal antibiotics seems to exacerbate these effects. There has been increasing interest in developing novel plant-derived safe antimicrobial and antitoxin compounds, including those present in grapes and grape products. The main objective of this review is to unify and interpret widely scattered information of reported studies on the inhibitory effects of bioactive grape pomace, grape seed, and grape skin extracts in relation to flavonoid content and sensory, antioxidative, and imunostimulating properties against pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi in culture and in/on food. The cited findings and suggested research outlined may facilitate and guide further needed studies to optimize the use of wines and grape-derived products to improve microbial food safety and to protect animals and humans against infectious diseases. Because grape phenolic phytonutrients are considered to be generally accepted-as-safe (GRAS), the cited and proposed studies will provide numerous benefits. The most active compounds could be used to protect liquid and solid foods against contamination by pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and microbial toxins. The grape pomace, seed, and skin extracts have the potential to provide inexpensive sources of novel antimicrobial formulations. These byproducts will also provide a source of income to grape growers and wine producers. Growers will be encouraged to produce grapes with high levels of bioactive compounds.

Technical Abstract: Grapes produce organic compounds that may be involved in the defense of the plants against invading phytopathogens. These metabolites include numerous phenolic compounds (flavonoids) that are also active against human pathogens. Grapes are used to produce a variety of wines, grape juices, and raisins. Grape pomace, seeds, and skins, the remains of the grapes that are a byproduct of wine making, also contain numerous bioactive compounds that differ from those found in grapes and in wines. To develop a better understanding of the roles of these flavonoids in food microbiology, this review surveys and interprets our present knowledge of the activities of wines and winery byproducts and some of their bioactive components against foodborne (Bacillus cereus, Campylobacteri jejuni, Escherichia coli, Listeria monoocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersenia enterocolytica, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio fulnificus), medical (Helicobacter pylori, Klebsiellae pneumoniae) bacteria, viruses (adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitits virus, norovirus, rotavirus), fungi (Candida albicans, Botyris cinerea), parasites (Eimelia tenella, Trichomonas vaginalis), and microbial toxins (ochratoxin A, Shiga toxin) in culture and in/on food (beef, chicken, frankfurters, hot dogs, lettuce, oysters, peppers, pork, sausages, soup, spinach) in relation to composition and sensory properties. Also covered are antimicrobial wine marinades, antioxidative and immunostimulating aspects. The collated information and suggested research needs might contribute to a better understanding of the agricultural, chemical, microbiological, and cellular bases of the health-promoting properties and facilitate and guide further studies needed to optimize the use of wines and byproducts to help improve microbial food safety.