M ore than 7,000 years ago, when grapes and yeast joined forces for the first time to lift the spirit of humankind, the ancients imbibed with joy, unknowingly celebrating the beginnings of one of the world’s oldest biotechnological processes. The first “magical” juice came from spontaneously fermented grapes cultivated in the Zagros Mountains of Ancient Persia and the Caucasus Mountain Range be...

Grape pomace and seeds, good source of functional compounds such as polyphenols, are waste by-products generated during wine making. Extraction is a very important step for later use polyphenols. Herein we investigated the effects conventional (CSE) non-conventional extraction methods (subcritical water (SWE) pressurized ethanol (PEE) on yield, total phenolic content (TPC) antioxidant capacity ...

Grenache, Syrah, Carignan Noir, Mourvèdre, Counoise and Alicante Bouchet grape seeds and skins, harvested in 2009 and 2010 in the Rhône valley area of France, and their respective pomaces remaining after vinification, were analyzed for their phenolic composition and antioxidant activity. The polyphenol content was quantified by HPLC and the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The antioxidant potential was m...

Salinity and drought are two major abiotic stresses that limit grape productivity. Responses to stress in grape are known to be regulated by several families of transcription factors. However, little is known about the role of grape Squamosa promoter binding protein (SBP)-box transcription factor genes in response to abiotic stress. To better understand the functions of the grape SBP-box genes ...

Among the dramatic changes occurring during grape berry (Vitis vinifera) development, those affecting the flavonoid pathway have provoked a number of investigations in the last 10 years. In addition to producing several compounds involved in the protection of the berry and the dissemination of the seeds, final products of this pathway also play a critical role in berry and wine quality. In this...

Nephrolithiasis is a complex disease that results from a combination of factors related to both urine composition and kidney morphoanatomy. Development of calcium oxalate monohydrate papillary calculi is linked to initial subepithelial calcification of renal papilla. Progressive tissue calcification depends on preexisting injury and involves reactive oxygen species. Many plant extracts that pro...