Activity profiling of Serbian and some other European Merlot wines in inflammation and oxidation processes.

Merlot are worldwide recognized red wines. Several studies show that red wines have health benefits, mainly due to their phenolic constituents. This study evaluates twelve Serbian and other five European (French, Italian, Macedonian, Slovenian, Spanish) Merlot wines in respect of their phenolic composition and biological activity. The latter was evaluated through a set of in vitro experiments related to common benefits of moderate red wine consumption in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Among the examined phenolics, the most abundant acid in all samples was the gallic acid (14.3-58.3 mg/L), catechin (9.1-49.3 mg/L) was the dominant flavonoid, malvidin-3-O-glucoside (2.63-66.5 mg/L) leading anthocyanin, whereas resveratrol was found in a usual concentration (0.18-4.67 mg/L). Differences determined in phenolic profiles, mainly in content of quercetin, rutin and p-coumaric acid, leaded to separation of Serbian from foreing Merlot wines. Results of standard antioxidant assays (DPPH•, ABTS•+ and •NO scavenger capacity reducing power (FRAP), lipid peroxidation) revealed French Merlot as the most potent, but also pointed out some Serbian samples. The correlation between the content of dominant phenolics and antioxidant activity was sporadic, but samples with the highest overall phenolic content, generally had higher antioxidant potential. Concentration of wines and number of cells in ant-inflammatory assay were chosen to mimic in vivo conditions. So, the potency of examined wines to decrease the production of macrophage-derived PGE2 and TXA2 (up to 65.5 and 47.9%, respectively), could be considered as in vitro evidence of positve health effect. Regarding the phenolic content and anti-inflammatory contribution of the most abundant compounds, no correlation was witnessed. In general, this study showed interesting potential of Serbian Merlot wines, comparable to health-promoting effects of renewed Eurepean ones.

Salt Content in Ready-to-Eat Food and Bottled Spring and Mineral Water Retailed in Novi Sad.

INTRODUCTION: Salt intake above 5 g/person/day is a strong independent risk factor for hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Published studies indicate that the main source of salt in human diet is processed ready-to-eat food, contributing with 65-85% to daily salt intake. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to present data on salt content of ready-to-eat food retailed in Novi Sad, Serbia, and contribution of the salt contained in 100 g of food to the recommended daily intake of salt for healthy and persons with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. METHODS: In 1,069 samples of ready-to-eat food, salt (sodium chloride) content was calculated based on chloride ion determined by titrimetric method, while in 54 samples of bottled water sodium content was determined using flame-photometry. Food items in each food group were categorized as low, medium or high salt. Average salt content of each food group was expressed as a percentage of recommended daily intake for healthy and for persons with CVD risk. RESULTS: Average salt content (g/100 g) ranged from 0.36 ± 0.48 (breakfast cereals) to 2.32 ± 1.02 (grilled meat). The vast majority of the samples of sandwiches (91.7%), pizza (80.7%), salami (73.9%), sausages (72.9%), grilled meat (70.0%) and hard cheese (69.6%) had a high salt profile. Average amount of salt contained in 100 g of food participated with levels ranging from 7.2% (breakfast cereals) to 46.4% (grilled meat) and from 9.6% to 61.8% in the recommended daily intake for healthy adult and person with CVD risk, respectively. Average sodium content in 100 ml of bottled spring and mineral water was 0.33 ± 0.30 mg and 33 ± 44 mg, respectively. CONCLUSION: Ready-to-eat food retailed in Novi Sad has high hidden salt content, which could be considered as an important contributor to relatively high salt consumption of its inhabitants.