This study aimed to evaluate, in vitro, the antioxidative potential of fruit wines produced from berry fruits (i.e., black chokeberry, blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry), cherry, and apple by different technological processes. For this purpose, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content as a marker of membrane damage were determined in wine-treated synaptosomes with hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. All studied wines induced increased antioxidant enzyme activities and decreased MDA levels compared to hydrogen peroxide-treated synaptosomes (i.e., control). The highest SOD activity was observed in synaptosomes treated with blackberry wine (6.81 U/mg), whereas blueberry wine induced the highest catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities (0.058 U/mg and 0.017 U/mg, respectively). Black chokeberry proved to be the best in lipid peroxidation protection with the lowest MDA value (1.42 nmol/mg). Finally, principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis additionally highlighted a higher antioxidant capacity of wines produced from dark-skinned fruits (i.e., blackberry, black chokeberry, and blueberry). The results suggest protective effects of the fruit wines against oxidative damage, and, accordingly, their promising application as functional food.

The phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of wine and fermented pomace (FP) from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes harvested at three ripening stages were evaluated using LC-MS/MS and spectrophotometric analyses. An investigation of grey mold’s (Botrytis cinerea) influence on wine phenolic content modulation was conducted as well. Finally, the influence of the plant’s ripening stage on the dynamics of the phenolic compounds extracted from wine and FP obtained from fully ripe grapes was evaluated. In this study, the content of catechin, epicatechin, quercetin, and p-coumaric, gallic, and syringic acids was analyzed. Wine and FP were obtained after extended maceration during the spontaneous and inoculated fermentation of fully ripe grapes. When comparing the wine and FP obtained from véraison, fully ripe, and overripe grapes, catechin was the most abundant in wine (40.13 ± 3.25 mg/L) and quercetin in FP (10.96 ± 0.14 mg/kg). A decrease in analyzed phenolic compounds was noticed in wine produced from grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea, and the highest depletion was found for quercetin. The use of a winemaking technique that involved differing maceration periods and inoculation using yeasts as well as spontaneous fermentation significantly modulated the phenolic content of derived wines and FP. The dynamics of the phenolic compounds extracted into wine, evaluated using a principal component analysis (PCA), highlighted contents of catechin and epicatechin. After a decrease in maceration, the PCA revealed a notable content of gallic and syringic acids, as well as quercetin, in samples of FP. This study offers a perspective for future research and the development of functional food with a high content of phenolic compounds originating from red grape products, such as wine and fermented pomace.

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity of fruit wines and their protective effects against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in rat synaptosomes in vitro. The wines were produced from strawberries and drupe fruits (i.e., plum, sweet cherry, peach, and apricot) through microvinification with a pure S. cerevisiae yeast culture. Fruit wines were produced with and without added sugar before the start of fermentation, whereas subvariants with and without pits were only applied to drupe fruit wines. First, synaptosomes were treated with the wines, while oxidative stress was induced with H₂O₂. Subsequently, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of membrane injury, were determined. In addition, the Briggs–Rauscher reaction (BR) was used to evaluate the inhibition capacity against free radicals. All investigated fruit wines increased the activity of the studied antioxidant enzymes and decreased MDA content compared to the corresponding controls (synaptosomes treated with H₂O₂). After synaptosomal treatment with plum wine, the highest activities were observed for SOD (5.57 U/mg protein) and GPx (0.015 U/mg protein). Strawberry wine induced the highest CAT activity (0.047 U/mg protein) and showed the best ability to reduce lipid peroxidation, yielding the lowest MDA level (2.68 nmol/mg). Strawberry, plum, and sweet cherry wines were identified as samples with higher antioxidant activity in both principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Finally, plum wine exhibited the highest inhibitory activity in the BR reaction (397 s). The results suggest that fruit wines could be considered potential functional food due to their protective effects against oxidative stress.

The composition and content of individual phenolic compounds in various fruit wines and overall antioxidant properties of these fruit wines were studied. Phenolic compounds were separated by reverse phase (RP) HPLC techniques, and their content was determined by means of mass spectrometer (MS) with triple quadrupole (TQ) analyser, which recorded specific precursor-product transitions. Antioxidant activity was monitored by the following spectrophotometric methods: DPPH, FRAP and Folin-Ciocalteu assay, respectively. Four types of berries (raspberry, blackberry, chokeberry and blueberry), one type of pome (apple) and one type of stone fruit (cherries) were used for the production of fruit wines. Corresponding fruit wines were produced by microvinification with or without adding sugar into the must before fermentation. Increase in alcohol level was responsible for the increased content of phenolic compounds in fruit wine due to improved extraction conditions. Produced fruit wines were preserved by adding SO2 which interferes with the determination of antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds. In this case, the development of a correlation method based on FRAP assay was introduced. Fruit wines are a rich source of substances which show beneficial effects on human health. Depending on the fruit type, different antioxidant compounds were predominant in wine samples.

This study aimed to show aromatic profile of wines produced from two autochthonous grape cultivars Krstac (K) and Zizak (Z). During the wine production two enzymatic preparations (EP) Lallzyme cuvee blanc (CB) and Lallzyme enzymatic preparation ? (EB) and different time of skin contact (4 and 8 h) were applied. Aromatic compounds were detected by GC/FID?MS analysis. Significantly higher content of total detected aromatic compounds compared to appropriate controls (168.54 and 161.72 mg L-1) was observed for K EB4h (176.33 mg L-1) and Z CB4h (177.29 mg L-1) wines. Skin contact and usage of EP mostly increased content of 2-phenylethyl and isoamyl alcohols. Wines from both varieties showed higher content of hexanoic and octanoic acids compared to the control. It is interesting to emphasize that content of esters that are responsible for fruity aroma of wine which is important for pleasant taste (isoamyl acetate ? banana, ethyl hexanoate ? ripe banana, 2-phenylethyl acetate ? powerful fruity rose like) were increased in all samples compared to the controls. The highest grades, after sensory evaluation, were obtained for K EB 8h (18.0 out of 20.0) and Z CB 8h (18.2 out of 20.0).

The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of wine and fermented pomace (FP) from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes harvested at the stage of full ripeness were evaluated by spectrophotometric analysis. Wine and pomace were obtained after prolonged maceration during spontaneous and inoculated fermentation of fully ripe grapes. Three individual vinifications were inoculated with the following commercial yeasts: BDX (Lallemand, Montréal, QC, Canada), FX10 (Laffort, Bordeaux, France) and Qa23 (Lallemand, Montréal, QC, Canada). For each vinification, maceration lasted 0, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively. The total phenolic content was determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Two different methods were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the wine and pomace samples: the Ferric Reducing Activity of Plasma (FRAP) and the Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC). The use of a winemaking process that included different maceration times and inoculation with yeasts, as well as spontaneous fermentation, significantly modulated the total phenolic content of the obtained wines and FP. This study could provide a good basis for the practical application and obtaining wines with a high content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties.