Mathematical modeling for ethanol, methanol and acetaldehyde generation through Mexican carignane grape (Vitis vinifera) vinification process

Wine is a worldwide known beverage, and even though its consumption has been associated with the reduction of heart diseases and the extent of lifespan, it also has compounds that might cause adverse effects on human health such as methanol and acetaldehyde. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of time, temperature, and pectic enzymes over wine methanol and acetaldehyde concentrations during vinification. Three temperatures (20, 30, and 35 °C) and three pectic enzyme concentrations (0, 9, and 18 mL/Kg) were tested, letting fermentation to stop due to sugar depletion. Both, metanol and acetaldehyde were quantified throughout the fermentation process. Temperature reduced metanol production, observing the lowest metanol concentration (53.543 ± 3.267 mg/100 mL of wine) at 35 °C in the absence of pectic enzyme. Acetaldehyde was not affected by these variables. Alcohol, metanol, and acetaldehyde concentrations were adjusted to mathematical models with high correlations.

Anti-inflammatory activity of pectic enzyme-treated pectin on lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 cells

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability and pathway of the pectic enzyme-treated (PET) pectin to inhibit the inflammation of macrophage RAW 264.7 induced by lipopolysaccharide. Results showed that PET-pectin produced from 1% substrate and 48 h reaction time had the highest antioxidative activity, thus these parameters were used to produce PET-pectin used in this study. PET-pectin showed no cell cytotoxicity to normal macrophage RAW 264.7 and reduce the nitrite secretion from LPS-induced RAW 264.7 by 20%. Finally, the expression of cytokines, including NO synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) were analyzed by western blot. In the western blot method, it was found that iNOS, COX-2, NF-κB, TNF-α and other proteins that activated NO production had a downtrend. It was found that PET-pectin possess promising activity to mitigate the inflammatory response.

Comparison of some commercial pectic enzyme preparations applicable in wine technology

The preparations of pectic enzymes are used for a more efficient extraction of desirable red grape pigments and other phenol compounds which are bound in plant cells and can be faster released by the action of pectic enzymes. Moreover, they shorten the time of maceration, settling, and filtration. The results of our experiments gives a comparison of the efficiency of preparations applicable in wine technology. The best preparation was Trenolin Rot followed by Vinozym G that could shorten the time of prefermentation to about 3 days thanks to a more intensive extraction of red grape pigments. By using the enzyme preparations Gammapect AWP and Ovopres, the time of filtration was ten times shorter. Compared to the control sample, the speed of desliming was threefold and twofold faster, respectively, for Gammapect AWP and Gammapect W2L.