COMPARISON OF TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN INDUSTRIALIZED GRAPE JUICE AND RED WINE

The benefits of the daily consumption of red wine, which are already known and have been well described, include reduced probability of coronary disease and derived cardiovascular complications. These "protector" benefits are attributed to the presence of flavonoid compounds found in the peel of the grape (Vitis vinifera), mainly anthocyanidines and the phenolic derivative, resveratrol. Beside these benefits, wine has 5% to 12% alcohol content; and thus, its regular consumption, along with the cardiac benefits, may be harmful to one's health.. The present work aimed to compare the values of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of red grape juice and red wine, in order to infer the possibility of substituting diary consumption of wine with grape juice. The antioxidant activity of the sampled wines was superior to the juice. However, it was not possible to show significant difference between phenolic content of juice and wine. Because antioxidant activity is strictly related to cardiovascular protection, juice consumption may not bring the same benefits as wine consumption, mainly related to antioxidant properties.