Heterogeneity in Red Wine Polyphenolic Contents Differentially Influences Alzheimer's Disease-type Neuropathology and Cognitive Deterioration

We recently found that moderate consumption of two unrelated red wines generate from different grape species, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a muscadine wine that are characterized by distinct component composition of polyphenolic compounds, significantly attenuated the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-type brain pathology and memory deterioration in a transgenic AD mouse model. Interestingly, our evidence suggests that the two red wines attenuated AD phenotypes through independent mechanisms. In particular, we previously found that treatment with Cabernet Sauvignon reduced the generation of AD-type amyloid-beta (A beta) peptides. In contrast, evidence from our present study suggests that muscadine treatment attenuates A beta neuropathology and A beta-related cognitive deterioration in Tg2576 mice by interfering with the oligomerization of A beta molecules to soluble high-molecular-weight A beta oligomer species that are responsible for initiating a cascade of cellular events resulting in cognitive decline. Collectively, our observations suggest that distinct polyphenolic compounds from red wines may be bioavailable at the organism level and beneficially modulate AD phenotypes through multiple A beta-related mechanisms. Results from these studies suggest the possibility of developing a "combination" of dietary polyphenolic compounds for AD prevention and/or therapy by modulating multiple A beta-related mechanisms.