Ageing-Associated Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Are Alleviated by Products from Grapes

Abstract

Advanced age is associated with increased incidence of a variety of chronic disease states which share oxidative stress and inflammation as causative role players. Furthermore, data point to a role for both cumulative oxidative stress and low grade inflammation in the normal ageing process, independently of disease. Therefore, arguably the best route with which to address premature ageing, as well as age-associated diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia, is preventative medicine aimed at modulation of these two responses, which are intricately interlinked. In this review, we provide a detailed account of the literature on the communication of these systems in the context of ageing, but with inclusion of relevant data obtained in other models. In doing so, we attempted to more clearly elucidate or identify the most probable cellular or molecular targets for preventative intervention. In addition, given the absence of a clear pharmaceutical solution in this context, together with the ever-increasing consumer bias for natural medicine, we provide an overview of the literature on grape (Vitis vinifera) derived products, for which beneficial effects are consistently reported in the context of both oxidative stress and inflammation.

Figure 1

Typical neutrophil chemotaxis pathways for (a) a young participant (<25 yr), (b) an aged participant (>65 yr), and (c) an aged participant after acute in vitro treatment with grape-deed derived proanthocyanidin. The Olympus Cell® system IX-81 inverted fluorescent microscope system with an F-view cooled CCD camera (Soft Imaging Systems) at 20x magnification was used to capture these images, which was analysed using Image J (Java software).