Abstract
Aim: Alternative technologies for the aging of wine spirit, as for other spirit beverages, have been developed over the past decade in order to meet consumer and industry expectations of differentiation and sustainability. Physicochemical characterisation of the resulting products has been carried out, but no previous research has evaluated their antioxidant activity. This preliminary study examined the effect of an alternative ageing technology (micro-oxygenation combined with wood staves from chestnut or Limousin oak in 1000 L stainless steel tanks) in comparison with traditional technology (250 L new barrels) on the antioxidant activity and related phenolic composition of the wine spirit.Methods and results: The wine spirits resulting from both technologies were sampled after 8, 15, 30, 180 and 365 days of ageing. Samples taken were analysed using the DPPH method, HPLC and total phenolic index. Significantly higher antioxidant activity (50.43 % vs 36.42 % DPPH inhibition), together with greater enrichment in wood-derived compounds (51.79 vs 27.72 total phenolic index), was achieved in wine spirits aged using the alternative technology than in new barrels. Moreover, chestnut wood stood out from Limousin oak wood with higher promoted antioxidant activity (62.69 % vs 21.35 % DPPH inhibition), and higher phenolic index (49.03 vs 25.67). Significant correlations between the wine spirits’ antioxidant activity, total phenolic index, ellagic acid, gallic acid, vanillin and syringaldehyde concentrations were observed, particularly in those aged using the alternative technology.Conclusion: Micro-oxygenation combined with staves resulted in higher accumulation of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity, thus increasing wine spirit quality and adding value to the product.Significance of the study: These preliminary results show that the characteristics acquired by the wine spirit, coupled with those revealed by previous research and the promotion of faster and cheaper ageing, make the alternative technology a promising option for the industry.
Highlights
Increasing attention has been given by the scientific community to the antioxidant activities of foods and beverages owing to their health benefits (Santana-Gálvez et al, 2019)
Regardless of the kind of wood, after one year of ageing, the antioxidant activity was significantly higher in the wine spirits resulting from the alternative technology (MOX + staves) than from the traditional one, despite the variability observed; the percentage of DPPH inhibition was about 1.5-fold higher in the former
Given that higher levels of most of the individual phenolic compounds were observed in the wine spirits aged in stainless steel tanks with MOX and staves, while gallic acid level was higher in those aged in new barrels
Summary
Increasing attention has been given by the scientific community to the antioxidant activities of foods and beverages owing to their health benefits (Santana-Gálvez et al, 2019). Ageing is a key stage in the beverage production process, for wine spirit, contributing to the chemical characteristics and related sensory properties imparted, such as colour, aroma and taste (Caldeira et al, 2017; Canas, 2017), and to the enrichment in bioactive valuable compounds This last feature is of great importance in spirits, since the ingestion of such compounds, with moderate consumption of a drink, can have a positive health effect (Duriez et al, 2001; Umar et al, 2003), as opposed to ethanol-induced damage (WHO, 2018). Several epidemiological studies evidenced that people following a phenolic-rich diet are at low risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases as a consequence of the wide set of activities it promotes; among them, the free radical scavenging activity against the oxidative stress occurring in the initial stage and progression of such diseases is of utmost relevance (Rasouli et al, 2017; Niki, 2018)
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