Polyphenol and Biogenic Amine Profiles of Albana and Lambrusco Grape Berries and Wines Obtained Following Different Agricultural and Oenological Practices

Annalisa Tassoni,Maura Ferri,Nunzio Tango

doi:10.4236/fns.2014.51002

Abstract

The levels of polyphenols, anthocyanins, antioxidant activity and of biogenic amines, were measured in white (Albana) and red (Lambrusco) grape berries and wines from the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) obtained following conventional, organic and biodynamic agricultural and oenological practices. No significant difference was shown among the samples coming from different agricultural and winemaking practices, with few exceptions of single compounds. Biogenic amine amounts were higher in red than in white berries and wines. Putrescine and histamine were the most abundant biogenic amines respectively in berries and wines of both cultivars. Red grapes and wines were richer in anthocyanins and showed higher antioxidant activity than white ones. The total level of polyphenols was similar in red and white berries and wines, but with different metabolite profiles depending on the grape variety.

Highlights

The bio-active nutraceutical and anti-nutraceutical compounds present in food and beverages have great potential influence on human health, the molecular composition and complexity of many foods cannot as yet be fully described
The present study aims to compare two types of conventional, organic and biodynamic Italian white and red grapes and the related wines, to ascertain whether the different agricultural practices and winemaking procedures, may directly influence the profiles and contents of polyphenols and biogenic amines and the antioxidant capacity
Total polyphenols resulted to be on average 4.6 and 8.2 g of gallic acid (GA) equivalents/kg of fresh weight (g GA eq/kgFW) respectively for Albana and Lambrusco berries with a double amount in red compared to white berries and no significant difference among the three agricultural practices in both cultivars

Summary

Introduction

The bio-active nutraceutical and anti-nutraceutical compounds present in food and beverages have great potential influence on human health, the molecular composition and complexity of many foods cannot as yet be fully described. Several published papers aimed to compare the metabolite profile of crops grown under conventional, organic and biodynamic agricultural practices. Some studies confirmed better biological activity of organic products versus conventional due to the higher content of bioactive compounds [1,2]. Other researches evidenced no significant difference between general metabolic profile, phenolic levels and nutritional values of buckwheat groats [3], wheat grains [4] and apples [5] grown under conventional and organic farming. Biodynamic farming is similar in many ways to better-known organic agriculture. Both use composting and cover cropping instead of mineral fertilizing and ban pesticides, herbicides, hormones and other chemicals. The difference from organic agriculture lies in the use of biodynamic preparations which contain specific herbs or minerals, treated or fermented with animal

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Results

Conclusion