Zinfandel & Cholesterol: What’s the Connection?

You know by now that wine promotes a healthy heart, and you’re probably thinking “resveratrol.” Resveratrol certainly is the most widely recognized compound associated with the many health benefits of wine, but there are many other protective compounds that play major roles as well, including antioxidants, polyphenols, procyanidins, flavonoids, stilbenes and saponins. While these compounds have amazing benefits to offer, saponins deserve special mention when it comes to reducing cholesterol levels in the blood, according to Andrew Waterhouse, professor of Oenology at the University of California.1

Saponins, glucose-based plant compounds from the waxy skin of grapes that dissolve into the wine during its fermentation process, may rival resveratrol when it comes to promoting your health. Only here’s the beauty of it: they’re on the same team. Like resveratrol, saponins help reduce dangerous cholesterol levels, but by different means. While resveratrol appears to block cholesterol oxidation via antioxidant action, saponins work by binding to and preventing the absorption of cholesterol from food. Could this be a core piece in the French Paradox puzzle? It appears that saponins may also affect inflammatory pathways, which could also minimize your risk of heart disease and cancer (see below: Wine & Chronic Inflammation: What You Need to Know).

So what’s the Zinfandel connection? In general, Waterhouse found that while red wine contains up to 10 times the saponin levels as white wine, Zinfandel boasted the highest levels of all. Syrah had the second highest, followed by Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. With wellness in mind, you should target deeply pigmented red wines, which have typically spent the longest time in contact with their grape skins. This should be no hardship if you love rich, bold, complex reds. Also, wines with higher alcohol content are strongly linked with saponin levels, as alcohol may make the saponins more soluble in wine. In fact, the red Zinfandel Waterhouse tested was 16% alcohol. If this exciting information is news to you, it may just call for a toast with a generous glass of Zinfandel─the “saponin star.” In vino veratis!

1 American Chemical Society (2003, September 9). New Cholesterol Fighter Found In Red Wine. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 18, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com? /releases/2003/09/030909070840.htm