Antioxidant components of wines acting on human phagocytes and the proliferation of Lactobacillus plantarum

Abstract

The health-promoting effects of wine consumption have frequently been attributed to their antioxidant constituents; however, the direct biological actions of these components on immune cells and gut microbiota remain incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the in vitro effects of four well-known Hungarian wines on (i) the oxidative activity of human peripheral blood phagocytes and (ii) the proliferation of the catalase-negative gut bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum. Reactive oxygen species production by phagocytes was assessed by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence following zymosan stimulation. Experiments were performed using cells obtained from three healthy donors aged 35, 54, and 79 years. Bacterial proliferation was evaluated after a three-day standardized cultivation period. All tested wines inhibited zymosan-induced chemiluminescence, with increasing antioxidant potency observed in the following order: Tokaj Furmint <Eger red wine <Tokaj Aszú <Tokaj Essence. The extent of inhibition showed a direct correlation with the concentrations of plant peroxidase III, catalase, and glutathione present in the wines, whereas taxifolin (dihydroflavonol) levels did not correlate with the antioxidant effect. Tokaj Aszú elevated significantly the proliferation of Lactobacillus plantarum, indicating that wine-derived antioxidants can influence both immune cell function and gut-associated microorganisms. These results provide evidence that specific enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant components of wines can exert direct biological effects in human organism. We propose that plant peroxidase III, catalase, and glutathione play a central role in mediating the antioxidant health effects of wines, primarily within the gastrointestinal environment, while taxifolin may contribute indirectly as an electron donor supporting peroxidase activity.