Abstract
Grape is one of the oldest fruit crops domesticated by humans. The numerous uses of grape in making wine, beverages, jelly, and other products, has made it one of the most economically important plants worldwide. The complex phytochemistry of the berry is characterized by a wide variety of compounds, most of which have been demonstrated to have therapeutic or health promoting properties. Among them, flavonoids are the most abundant and widely studied, and have enjoyed greater attention among grape researchers in the last century. Recent studies have shown that the beneficial health effects promoted by consumption of grape and grape products are attributed to the unique mix of polyphenolic compounds. As the largest group of grape polyphenols, flavonoids are the main candidates considered to have biological properties, including but not limited to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. Here, we discuss the recent scientific advances supporting the beneficial health qualities of grape and grape-derived products, mechanisms of their biological activity, bioavailability, and their uses as nutraceuticals. The advantages of modern plant cell based biotechnology as an alternative method for production of grape nutraceuticals and improvement of their health qualities are also discussed.
Highlights
Grape (Vitis spp.) is one of the most economically important plant species due to its diverse uses in production of wine, grape juice and other food products [1]
More than 70% of grape polyphenols remain in the pomace, which becomes a valuable source of health promoting nutraceuticals [40]
Evidence suggests that polyphenols in grapes and grape products may reduce metabolic syndrome and prevent development of obesity and type 2 diabetes, by acting as multi-target modulators with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects [100,104]
Summary
Grape (Vitis spp.) is one of the most economically important plant species due to its diverse uses in production of wine, grape juice and other food products [1]. It is cultivated in all continents in the temperate regions where sufficient rain, warm and dry summers as well as relatively mild winters are normal climatic patterns [2]. Flavonoids represent a widespread and common group of natural polyphenols produced by the phenylpropanoid pathway [3,4]. It is paramount to understand the principles of biological activity, bioavailability and metabolism of grape flavonoids in relation to human health
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