Consumer Insights, Nutrition & Community

Committee

Kathleen Nave, ChairJanuary 26, 2009Sacramento, CA

Consumer Insights, Nutrition & Community

• Grape Health Workshop

– December 2-3, 2008 in San Francisco– Seven areas of emphasis

• Cardiovascular• Cancer• Cognitive Function/Brain Health• Immune Function• Diabetes/Glycemic Response• Anti-microbial/Anti-adhesion• Bioavailability/Analytical

Consumer Insights, Nutrition & Community

• Workshop Goals– Establish a consensus about research areas

of promise– Provide information needed for gap analysis– Stimulate discussion among key researchers– Provide direction to the grape industry– Publish papers presented in applicable

professional journal

Dr. Joseph Vita, Cardiovascular

• Most research data on wine; some on juice

• Benefit to vascular endothelium (cells lining inside of blood vessels)

• Improvement of platelet function, blood pressure, reduced clots, protection of LDL cholesterol and anti-inflammatory effect

Dr. Susan Zunino, Diabetes/Glycemic Resonse

• Diabetes: defects in pancreatic beta-cell function & decreased disposal of glucose in tissues – also inflammatory molecules produced by fat tissue

• Resveratrol and grapeseed procyanidins lowered blood glucose

• Quercetin protected beta cells

Dr. Sue Percival

• Can grapes improve surveillance mode of immunity – priming T-cells for immunity enhancement & anti-inflammatory benefits?

• Work with Muscadine & Cabernet wines• Grapes may influence “functional immunity

tests” in animals & people• Next step underway: looking at preventing

illness

Dr. Raja Aggarwal, Cancer

• Work with grapeseed extract on cancer

• Animal studies: benefits on the following cancers: colon, breast, skin, prostate, head and neck

• Proanthocyanidins are key component

Dr. James Joseph, Brain Health

• Work primarily with blueberries, extrapolated to grapes

• Polyphenols may decrease sensitivity to oxidative stress

• Oxidative stress and inflamation are “the evil twins of brain aging”

• Verbal memory of human subjects improved with grape juice

Dr. Christine Wu, Dental health

• Grapes may suppress growth factors of oral pathogens associated with cavities, gum disease and band breath

• Most work conducted with raisins, which show some anti-microbial activity

• Fresh grapes drop pH, but effect is quickly neutralized above 6.1

Dr. Andy Waterhouse

• Bioactive substances in grapes & wine including polyphenolic compounds & metabolites

• Phenolics have low absorbtion rates & quick excretion

• Metabolites of phytonutrients may be more potent and should be studied further; these include catechins, anthocyanins, procyanidins and quercetin

Considerations, cont…

• Cardiovascular research– Pool research for a human study– Blood pressure (biomarker for heart disease)

has shown positive results

Brain health research in humans

Welch’s study

CTGC studies on Alzheimer’s; grapes & mechanism affecting brain

Considerations, cont….

• Metabolite activity– Review grape polyphenolic compounds– Possible to analyze human blood samples

from human studies already completed or will new collective research be needed?

Grape Seed Extract

Is this applicable to all NGWI products? If not, perhaps work in this area shouldn’t be undertaken by NGWI