Grape bioactives for human health

The grape is one of the most valuable crop in the world, mainly produced in the European Mediterranean countries. Grape phytochemistry is quite complex due to hundreds of phytochemicals occurring in the berry tissues, including polyphenols. Grape seed extracts, rich in proanthocyanidines, resveratrol and grape juice are the most extensive grape polyphenols and products investigated as cardioprotective agents, both for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. From the available data, it seems that their administration may exert health benefits, by reducing the levels of a number of markers of cardiovascular risk. However, the paucity of biokinetics data on metabolism and bioavailability of grape polyphenols in healthy subjects as well as in patients at risk of or with cardiovascular diseases represents a major drawback of the research in the field of grape bioactives for human health.