Few studies investigated the biological effects of American grape cultivars. We investigated the metabolic response after acute consumption of grape juice or wine from Bordo grapes (Vitis labrusca) in a placebo-controlled crossover study with fifteen healthy volunteers. Blood samples were collected 1 hour after the intake of 100 mL of water, juice, or wine to measure TBARS, ABTS, FRAP, glucose, and uric acid levels. To evaluate differences in cellular response, intracellular reactive species production (DCFH-DA) and metabolic mitochondrial viability (MTT) were assessed after exposure of human neuron-like cells (SH-SY5Y) to juice or wine. Glycemia was reduced after juice or wine consumption, whereas blood levels of uric acid were reduced after juice consumption but increased after wine consumption. Juice and wine consumption reduced plasma lipid peroxidation and increased plasma antioxidant capacity (ABTS and FRAP assays). Furthermore, juice inhibited H₂O₂-induced intracellular production of reactive species (RS) and increased the viability of SH-SY5Y cells. In contrast, wine (dealcoholized) exhibited a per se effect by inducing the production of RS and reducing cell viability. These results indicate a positive impact of acute consumption of Bordo juice and wine on human oxidative status, whereas only juice had protective effects against oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity.

Consumers increasingly prefer and seek functional beverages, which, given their characteristics, provide important bioactive compounds that help prevent and treat chronic diseases. Mead is a traditional fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey solution. The aging process of mead with oak chips is innovative and bestows functional characteristics to this beverage. Thus, in this study, we sought to develop and characterize a novel functional beverage by combining the health benefits of honey with the traditional aging process of alcoholic beverages in wood. Phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed in mead using oak chips at different toasting levels and aged for 360 days. LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS was used to analyze the chemical profile of different meads. Over time, the aging process with oak chips showed a higher total phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity. Eighteen compounds belonging to the classes of organic acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins were identified in meads after 360 days. Our findings revealed that the addition of oak chips during aging contributed to p-coumaric, ellagic, abscisic, and chlorogenic acids, and naringenin, vanillin, and tiliroside significantly impacted the functional quality of mead.

Fermentation is an important tool in producing functional beverages through agro-industrial wastes, and medicinal and aromatic plants due to the specific content of bioactive molecules. Therefore, this study evaluated the contribution of Matricaria recutita (chamomile), Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), or Mentha piperita (peppermint) extracts to the phytochemical profile and potential biological effects of a functional fermented orange beverage in vitro and in silico. The concentrations of aromatic herbal extracts that yielded the best sensory performance for fermented beverages were selected for analyses that involved characterizing the fermented beverages. The beverages that received the extracts (2%) had the highest phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant potential compared to the control. Hesperidin (124–130 mg L⁻¹), narirutin (66–70 mg L⁻¹), chlorogenic (11–16 mg L⁻¹), caffeic (5.3–5.5 mg L⁻¹), and ferulic (1–1.7 mg L⁻¹) acids were found in the different formulations. The in silico analysis suggested that the evaluated compounds do not present a toxicity risk (mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, hepatotoxicity, and ability to penetrate the blood–brain barrier). Additionally, they can contribute to the biological effects of therapeutic importance, such as antioxidant, gastroprotective, and anti-ulcerative properties, and the Mentha piperita L. extract presented the greatest potential among the evaluated herbs for use in functional fermented beverages.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of meads prepared with multifloral honey, unifloral orange blossom honey, and a mixture of both. To prepare the meads, multifloral honey and orange blossom honey from Southern and Southeastern Brazil, respectively, were used. The physicochemical properties, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of the meads were determined. The phenolic compounds were identified by mass spectrometry, and sensory tests were carried out. Multifloral honey showed higher levels of ash content, reducing sugars, and total phenolic compounds than orange blossom honey. The multifloral and mixed meads presented the highest levels of total phenolics, total polyphenol index, and antioxidant capacity. The orange blossom mead showed the highest scores in the sensory analysis for color, aroma, flavor, and global acceptance. The phenolic compounds identified in the meads were the chlorogenic, protocatechuic, syringic, and p-coumaric acids, as well as naringenin and quercetin. The physicochemical, functional, and sensory characteristics of the meads are affected by the honey used in their preparation.

Grape juice has been widely studied due to the presence of phenolic compounds and its beneficial effects on human health. Ultraviolet irradiation C (UV-C) can increase the content of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins and contribute to sensory acceptability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different doses of ultraviolet irradiation C (UV-C) on ‘Trebbiano’, ‘Niagara Branca’, ‘Isabel’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ grapes, as well as effect of the storage period. Juices were elaborated and evaluated for physicochemical analyses, and for the sensorial analysis in irradiated samples. In ‘Niagara Branca’ and ‘Trebbiano’ cultivars, storage and irradiation promoted few physicochemical alterations, and sensorially, irradiation reduced the intensity of flavor and color attributes. In juices from ‘Isabel’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ cultivars, the storage period led to the concentration of sugars and irradiation influenced physicochemical parameters and increased the intensity of aroma attribute at dose of 2 kJ m-2. Thus, UV-C irradiation contributes little for the improvement of white grape juices; however, it favors some sensory attributes in red grape juice, requiring further studies to elucidate the influence of UV-C irradiation on the phenolic and volatile composition of grape juice.