Red wine alcohol promotes quercetin absorption and directs its metabolism towards isorhamnetin and tamarixetin in rat intestine in vitro

• Published in: British journal of pharmacology 2006-04, Vol.147 (7), p.765-771
• Main Authors: Dragoni, Stefania, Gee, Jennifer, Bennett, Richard, Valoti, Massimo, Sgaragli, Giampietro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Depressants - pharmacology; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Disaccharides - metabolism; Ethanol - pharmacology; ethyl alcohol; Flavonols - metabolism; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; In Vitro Techniques; intestinal absorption; Intestinal Absorption - drug effects; Intestinal Mucosa - drug effects; Intestinal Mucosa - metabolism; Intestines - drug effects; Jejunum - drug effects; Jejunum - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phenols - analysis; Phenols - pharmacology; quercetin; Quercetin - analogs & derivatives; Quercetin - metabolism; Quercetin - pharmacokinetics; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Red wine; Sulfur Dioxide - metabolism; Wine - analysis
• ISSN: 0007-1188; 1476-5381
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0706662

Moderate consumption of red wine has been associated with beneficial effects on human health, and this has been attributed to the flavonoid content. Factors that influence the bioavailability of this group of polyphenolic compounds are therefore important. Using the rat cannulated everted jejunal sac technique, we have investigated the effect of alcohol on the intestinal absorption of quercetin and its 3‐O‐glucoside from red wine. Tissue preparations were incubated in whole or dealcoholised red wine, diluted 1 : 1 with Krebs buffer for 20 min at 37°C, after which the mucosa was removed and processed for HPLC analysis. Tissues exposed to red wine had significantly higher amounts of both quercetin (× −3; P