Abstract

We studied the effects of red wine consumption on the FA composition of rat kidney. Four groups of adult male rats were fed a balanced diet for 10 wk. The drinking fluid was water (control), red wine, alcohol-free red wine, or ethanol (12.5%, vol/vol). FA composition, lipid peroxidation, and cytochrome P450 content were determined in the kidney. The antioxidant capacity of plasma was also measured. Ethanol decreased the content of long-chain PUFA, whereas red wine maintained the levels of arachidonic (20:4n-6) and eicosapentaenoic (20:5n-3) acids and alcohol-free red wine significantly increased the levels of 20:4n-6. Lipid peroxidation in the red wine and alcohol-free red wine groups was significantly lower than that of both the control and ethanol groups. The diminished renal lipid peroxidation was associated with an increased antioxidant capacity of plasma. Renal cytochrome P450 was elevated by 50% in the ethanol group and diminished by 20% in the alcohol-free red wine group. These data suggest that moderate red wine consumption could contribute to the preservation of the contents of n-3 and n-6 PUFA, particularly 20:4n-6, in rat kidney. Although ethanol increased the content of cytochrome P450 in the kidney, this effect was eliminated by the nonalcoholic components of red wine.