The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging (Feb 2024)

Moderate wine consumption measured using the biomarker urinary tartaric acid concentration decreases inflammatory mediators related to atherosclerosis

  • Inés Domínguez López,
  • Camila Arancibia-Riveros,
  • Rosa Casas,
  • Polina Galkina,
  • Maria Pérez,
  • Miguel Ángel Martínez-González,
  • Montserrat Fitó,
  • Emilio Ros,
  • Ramon Estruch,
  • Rosa M. Lamuela-Raventós

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 28, no. 2
p. 100003

Abstract

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Objectives: Several studies suggest that moderate wine consumption, particularly red wine, may have benefits for cardiovascular health. Red wine contains a variety of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols like phenolic acids, which have demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in experimental models. The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatory properties of wine, measured as urinary tartaric acid, a new biomarker of wine consumption. Design, settings, and participants: One-year longitudinal study that included 217 participants from the PREDIMED trial. Measurements: Plasma inflammatory biomarkers and urinary tartaric acid were analyzed using xMAP technology and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between variations over 1-year in urinary tartaric acid concentrations and 1-year changes in serum inflammatory molecules, including adhesion cell molecules, interleukine-6, tumour necrosis factor alpha, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1. Three categories were built according to tertiles of 1-y changes in urinary tartaric acid. Results: Using a ROC curve, urinary tartaric acid was corroborated as a reliable biomarker of wine consumption (AUC = 0.818 (95% CI: 0.76; 0.87). In the continuous analysis, participants with higher increases in tartaric acid significantly reduced their concentrations in soluble vascular adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1) after 1-year of follow-up (−0.20 (−0.38; −9,93) ng/mL per 1-SD increment, p-value = 0.031). Moreover, tertiles 2 and 3 of 1-year changes in tartaric acid presented a significant reduction in soluble intercellular cell adhesion molecule (sICAM-1) as compared to tertile 1 (−0.31 (−0.52; −0.10) ng/mL, p-value = 0.014 and −0.29 (−0.52; −0.07) ng/mL, p-value = 0.023, respectively). Participants in the third tertile also exhibited a reduced concentration of sVCAM-1 compared to those in the first tertile (−0.31 (−0.55; −0.06) ng/mL, p-value = 0.035). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that wine consumption is associated with lower levels of inflammation due to the anti-inflammatory properties of wine compounds.

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