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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 5, 2008 Cornell and University of
Rochester collaborate in research to help fight tooth decay Geneva, N.Y.: A class of chemicals in red wine grapes may significantly reduce the ability of bacteria to cause cavities, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The findings are the result of collaboration between Cornell University's Department of Food Science and Technology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Rochester Medical Center. The study suggests that specific polyphenols, present in large amounts in fermented seeds and skins discarded after grapes are pressed, interfere with the ability of bacteria to contribute to tooth decay. The action of the grape-based chemicals may also hold clues for new ways to lessen the ability of bacteria to cause life-threatening systemic infections. "Overall, the phenolic extracts disrupt essential virulence traits for a widespread, destructive oral pathogen, but without killing it," said Olga Padilla-Zakour, a Cornell associate professor of food processing. "We are excited about the potential application of active compounds from wine grape byproducts in the control of biofilms as part of the precise targeting of bacterial disease." The two institutions, both with easy access to Finger Lakes wineries, have been looking at how compounds found in wine grapes impact human oral health. Together, they won a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant in December 2005 to study the influence of grape polyphenols on oral bacteria, and this publication is an early result. Along with the potential value for medicine, the discovery that the waste products of winemaking may be useful in drug making has economic implications. Grapes are one of the world's largest fruit crops, and more than 80 percent of grapes are used to make wine. Fermented winemaking waste, called pomace, contains at least as many polyphenols as whole, unfermented fruit, so there would be no need to use perfectly good grapes to make any drugs that might result from this finding. Accordingly, the USDA is especially interested in the idea of bioprospecting in the winery versus the rainforest. The goal of the current study was to examine the makeup of polyphenols in red wine grape varieties and their ability to interfere with Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria that produce the substances most responsible for tooth decay: acid and the building blocks (glucans) of a dental biofilm called plaque. Researchers prepared polyphenolic extracts from harvest season 2005 red wine grape varieties and pomace from wineries in the Finger Lakes region of New York. These included pinot noir from Hosmer Winery in Ovid, N.Y., cabernet franc grapes grown at Cornell Orchards in Lansing, N.Y., baco noir from Pleasant Valley Winery in Hammondsport, N.Y., and Noiret™ (a new wine grape release from Cornell) from Swedish Hill Winery in Romulus, N.Y. Varieties were prescreened for their phenolic content, and grape pomace was chosen in general for its ready supply as an inexpensive source material. Red grapes have been shown to contain 40 percent more phenols than white grapes. "Most foods contain compounds that are both good and bad for dental health, so the message is not 'drink more wine to fight bacteria,'" said Hyun Koo, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of dentistry within the Eastman Department of Dentistry and Center for Oral Biology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "We hope to isolate the key compounds within the winemaking waste that render bad bacteria harmless." ### Related Links:
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New York State Agricultural
Experiment Station, 630 West North Street, Geneva, New York 14456
Telephone: 315.787.2011
Last Modified:
February 5, 2008
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