Dietary wine phenolics catechin, quercetin, and resveratrol efficiently protect hypercholesterolemic hamsters against aortic fatty streak accumulation.

The effects of the phenolic compounds catechin (Cat), quercetin (Qer), and resveratrol (Res) present in red wine on early atherosclerosis were studied in hamsters. Hamsters (n = 32) were divided into 4 groups of 8 and fed an atherogenic diet for 12 weeks. They received by force-feeding 7.

Phenolics from commercialized grape extracts prevent early atherosclerotic lesions in hamsters by mechanisms other than antioxidant effect.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiatherosclerotic effect of commercially available phenolic-rich extracts from grape seeds (ExGrape seeds, EGS; grape seed extract, GSE) and marc (ExGrape total, EGT) in cholesterol-fed hamsters and to investigate possible operating mechanisms. These extracts fed at a moderate dose mimicking two glasses of red wine per meal reduced plasma cholesterol (-11% on average) but did not affect plasma antioxidant capacity of hamsters. The extracts prevented the development of aortic atherosclerosis by 68% (EGS), 63% (EGT), and 34% (GSE).