The Potential Effects of Red Wine and Its Components on Neurocognitive Disorders: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Background: The aging population is associated with a net increase in the incidence and prevalence of chronic-degenerative diseases, particularly neurocognitive disorders. Therefore, the identification of preventative strategies to restrain the burden of such chronic conditions is of key relevance. Red wine and its components have accumulated evidence regarding their positive effects in terms of neurological pathologies associated with neurocognitive symptoms.

Methods: Based on this background, the present narrative review aims to summarize the state-of-the-art evidence on the effects of red wine and its components on neurocognitive disorders in both preclinical and clinical settings.

Results: The main findings highlight a protective effect of wine polyphenols present in red wine on dementia in different preclinical models of cognitive decline. The current translational clinical evidence remains uncertain, especially considering the risk-to-benefit ratio of alcohol consumption on brain health.

Conclusions: Given the overall health risks associated with red wine consumption and consistent with the prevailing guidelines in the literature, there is insufficient evidence to support light-to-moderate red wine consumption as an effective strategy for preventing these diseases. However, the largely preclinical findings on polyphenols derived from red wine remain of significant interest in this context.

Keywords: clinical studies; dementia; neurocognitive disorders; neurodegenerative diseases; polyphenols; preclinical studies; prevention; red wine; resveratrol.

Figure 1

PRISMA flow diagram for the literature search.

Figure 2

Main molecules targeted by red wine components in preclinical studies. Abbreviations: BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), NO (nitric oxide), SOD (superoxide dismutase), AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), CREB (cAMP response-element binding protein), HO-1 (heme-oxygenase 1), mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin), NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate), PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinases), FoxO3a (forkhead box O3), PP2A (protein phosphatase 2), Prdx2 (peroxiredoxin 2), SIRT1 (sirtuine 1), HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin), MMPs (matrix metalloproteases), ROS (reactive oxygen species), TTR (transthyretin), Aβ (amyloid β), CaMKII (calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II), Cdk5 (cyclin-dependent kinase 5), GSK-3β (glycogen synthase kinase 3β), NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1). Created with BioRender.com.