ABSTRACT
Many studies conclude that wine consumption is related to lower risk for cardiovascular diseases partially through the amelioration of inflammatory biomarkers. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of wine consumption on the inflammatory response and to compare these effects with the consumption of similar amount of alcohol without the wine micro-constituents in cardiovascular disease patients. Therefore, a randomized, single-blind, controlled, three-arm parallel intervention study was designed. Cardiovascular disease patients were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. In Group A participants consumed no alcohol, in Group B (ethanol group) and Group C (wine group) participants consumed 27 g of alcohol per day. Biological samples were collected at the beginning, on the 4th and 8th week and several biomarkers were measured. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells that were isolated from patients were incubated under basal and inflammatory conditions for 4 and 24 h and the secretion of interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) was measured. No significant difference was observed among the three groups before the initiation or during the intervention in the most soluble biomarkers. Higher TNFα secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was observed at basal conditions in the ethanol group both at 4 and 24 h of incubation versus baseline secretion. Furthermore, lower secretion of the ΤNFα was observed after 8 weeks of intake in the wine group versus the ethanol group, both at 4 and 24 h of incubation. In conclusion, the light to moderate wine consumption for 8 weeks revealed an attenuation of the ethanol consumption effect on cytokine secretion at basal conditions from the patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells.