GRAPE POLYPHENOLS (ANTIOXIDANTS) PROMOTE CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.

According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, supplementation with grape polyphenols lowered risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Researchers from the University of Connecticut administered lyophilized grape powder (LGP) or placebo to 24 premenopausal and 20 postmenopausal women for four weeks. The LGP was composed of 92% carbohydrates and contained flavans, anthocyanins, quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol and resveratrol. In the pre- and postmenopausal subjects given LGP, plasma triglyceride concentrations were reduced by 15% and 6%, respectively, and serum levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and apolipoproteins B and E were lower. The researchers concluded LGP intake beneficially affected key risk factors for coronary heart disease in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women by causing health-promoting alterations in lipoprotein metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. (Tosca L Zern, et al., “Grape Polyphenols Exert a Cardioprotective Effect in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women by Lowering Plasma Lipids and Reducing Oxidative Stress,” The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr, 135:1911-1917, August 2005).