22. Red Wine and Tooth Decay
Olga Padilla-Zakour
Olga I. Padilla-Zakour, Food Science and Technology, and a research colleague discovered that red wine grapes and pumice, a residue of red winemaking, contain substances that may help prevent tooth decay. Specific polyphenols—chemicals present in fermented seeds and skins discarded after grape pressing—interfere with the ability of bacteria (Streptococcus mutans) to contribute to tooth decay. Fermented winemaking waste contains as many polyphenols as whole fruit, and red grapes have been shown to contain 40 percent more polyphenols than white grapes. To examine the makeup of polyphenols in red wine grape varieties and their ability to interfere with S. mutans, the researchers prescreened 2005 grape varieties from New York’s Finger Lakes region and prepared polyphenolic extracts from them. The researchers believe that potential drugs could be made directly from fermented winemaking waste. They aim to isolate the key compounds in pumice that render bacteria harmless, perhaps developing a new kind of mouthwash. The study may also hold clues for new ways to reduce life-threatening, systemic infections caused by bacteria.