Grape seed extract: having a potential health benefits

Abstract

Grapes are one of the most highly consumed fruits across the world. In ancient Europe the leaves and the sap of grape plants has been used in traditional treatment for ages. Besides being a wellspring for vitamins and fibre, the skin and seeds of grapes are highly rich in Polyphenols specifically proanthocyanidins, which can be used as a functional ingredient to address various health issues by boosting the natural bio-processes of the body. Since, grape seeds are by product of wine making companies therefore can be easily procured. The present review article briefly describes the various pharmacological activities of grape seed extract and different experimental studies were done which supports the beneficial health qualities of the extract. Through different and various studies, it was proved that the proanthocyanidin rich grape seed extract provides benefits against many diseases i.e. inflammation, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, peptic ulcer, microbial infections, etc. Therefore, beside from using it as a nutraceutical or cosmeceutical, as a result they may have a potential to substitute or complement in currently used drugs in the treatment of diseases by developing it into other successful pharmaceutical formulations for better future prospective.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Grape seed extract (GSE); Oxidative stress; Proanthocyanidin; Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Fig. 1

Sources and actions of VEGF during wound healing. During wound healing, production of VEGF is done by a variety of cell types such as: keratinocytes, mast cells, macrophages, and fibroblasts. During wound healing process, VEGF stimulates vascular permeability, angiogenesis, granulation tissue formation, scar tissue deposition; strengthen of wound, closure of wound and re-epithelization

Fig. 2

Schematic diagram depicting the consequence in inflammation and role of GSE in inflammation. GSE attenuate oxidative stress (Cetin et al. 2008) and decrease the Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) levels, and thereby reduce the inflammatory process related to some diseases. GSE rich in polyphenolic compounds causes anti-inflammatory effect. Polyphenols present in GSE are capable of inhibiting arachidonic acid release, responsible for the synthesis of leukotrienes and prostaglandins, which further activates the inflammatory response (Santangelo et al. 2007)