Can Red Wine Prevent Periodontal Disease?

Any thoughts on the recent study from Canadian researchers who found that components found in red wine can help prevent periodontal disease?

The scientists from Universite Laval (Quebec, Canada), reported these results at the 35th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research. They conducted a study to investigate the role of polyphenols, including those from red wine, in scavenging free radicals released by immune cells stimulated with components of bacteria causing periodontal diseases. Because free radicals are generated by immune cells during periodontitis, it is critical to keep them at low levels to maintain healthy gums. Their results indicated that red wine polyphenols significantly modulate several inflammatory components released by macrophages (a population of host immune cells) in response to bacterial stimuli. Specifically, polyphenols efficiently scavenged and inhibited free-radical generation by host immune cells by controlling intracellular proteins involved in their release. These anti-oxidant properties of red wine polyphenols could be useful in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory periodontal diseases as well as other disorders involving free radicals.

Please note: The above is a summary of abstract #1080, “Red Wine Polyphenols Modulate the Oxidative Stress Induced by Periodontopathogens”, by V. Houde, D. Grenier, and F. Chandad, of Université Laval, Québec, Canada, which was presented at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 10, 2006, in Pacific Hall of the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, during the 35th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research.

Interested readers may want to refer to an article in the March, 2006, issue of the Journal of Dental Research, “Anti-inflammatory Activity of a High-molecular-weight Cranberry Fraction on Macrophages Stimulated by Lipopolysaccharides from Periodontopathogens”, by C. Bodet et al. of Laval University, Montreal, PQ, Canada (J Dent Res 85[3]:235-239, 2006).

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