Exploring human metabolome after wine intake – A review

Wine has a rich history dating back to 2200 BC, originally recognised for its medicinal properties. Today, with the aid of advanced technologies like metabolomics and sophisticated analytical techniques, remarkable insights have been made into the molecular-level changes induced by wine consumption in the human organism.
A review published in the journal, Molecules, gives a comprehensive exploration of the alterations in human metabolome associated with wine consumption. 51 studies from the last 25 years were reviewed; these studies systematically investigated shifts in metabolic profiles within blood, urine, and feces samples, encompassing both short-term and long-term studies of the consumption of wine and wine derivatives. Significant metabolic alterations were observed in a wide variety of metabolites belonging to different compound classes, such as phenolic compounds, lipids, organic acids, and amino acids, among others. Within these classes, both endogenous metabolites as well as diet-related metabolites that exhibited up-regulation or down-regulation following wine consumption were included. The up-regulation of short-chain fatty acids and the down-regulation of sphingomyelins after wine intake, as well as the up-regulation of gut microbial fermentation metabolites like vanillic and syringic acid are some of the most important findings reported in the reviewed literature. The results confirm the intact passage of certain wine compounds, such as tartaric acid and other wine acids, to the human organism.
The authors say that this review offers a holistic perspective on the metabolic underpinnings of this centuries-old tradition
Source: Lekka P, Fragopoulou E, Terpou A, Dasenaki M. Exploring Human Metabolome after Wine Intake—A Review. Molecules. 2023; 28(22):7616.