Benefits of grape chemicals on human health

Benefits ascribed to healthy dietary patterns are mainly due to plant-derived foodstuffs rich in bioactive constituents. In particular, in the context of Mediterranean diet, grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) products (grape, grape juice and wine) represent a valuable source of polyphenols, an extensive and heterogeneous group of secondary metabolites abundant in plant tissues. Typically, polyphenols include flavonoids, stilbenes and proanthocyanidins, compound with a broad spectrum biological activity, though grape chemistry is much more complex. According to the structure-activity relationship, antioxidant power has been extensively attributed to these phytochemicals, due to the hydroxyl groups and conjugated double bonds of the flavan nucleus, the basic skeleton of polyphenols. In this survey, we focus on the antitumoral, cardio- and neuroprotective activity of these phytotherapeutics, emphasizing on the molecular and biochemical mechanisms involved in these properties. Finally, we briefly introduce some aspects of polyphenol bioavailability, a critical process whose knowledge is essential to better understand the in vivo activities of these compounds.