Comparison between red wine and isolated trans-resveratrol on the prevention and regression of atherosclerosis in LDLr (−/−) mice

Moderate consumption of red wine has been widely associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, mainly due to its composition in phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, such as resveratrol. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of red wine vs. trans-resveratrol consumption on the prevention and regression of atherosclerosis in LDLr (−/−) mice. This study consisted of two protocols: “Prevention” (PREV) and “Regression” (REGR). Both protocols included four groups: red wine (WINE), dealcoholized red wine (EXT), trans-resveratrol (RESV), and control (CONT). In PREV protocol, animals received a regular diet for 8 weeks and then switched to an atherogenic diet for the following 8 weeks, while the opposite was performed in REGR. Animals that received atherogenic diet after an initial period of standard diet (PREV) gained more body weight (39.25±2.30%) than the opposite (29.27±1.91%, P=.0013), suggesting an interaction between age and weight gain. Trans-resveratrol showed the highest hypocholesterolemic effect during PREV, reducing total cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C and HDL-C. Supplementation with trans-resveratrol and dealcoholized red wine changed the fatty acids profile in the liver in both protocols, leading to an increase of MDA concentrations and SOD activity in the PREV protocol. In conclusion, supplementation with trans-resveratrol, red wine and the same wine without alcohol altered biomarkers of oxidative stress and lipidemia but had no effect on the prevention or regression of fatty streaks. These data suggest that cardiovascular protection associated with the “French Paradox” may be a result of synergistic effects between wine and the Mediterranean diet.