Cheese rich in polyphenols thanks to grapes.

Grape Polyphenol Extracts May Boost Nutritional Benefits of Cheese According to Quebec Study, Canada.

The polyphenol family includes more than 8.000 molecules synthesized by plants. Berries, including grapes, contain numerous polyphenols with health benefits.

Researchers at the Institute for Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), in a recent edition of the Journal of Dairy Science they have released the results of their research on polyphenols.

Polyphenols are excellent in the prevention and treatment of cancer, inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Some molecules of this family still have antibiotic effects, particularly against microorganisms that cause oral disease.

Consumption of polyphenols in food, processed or not, you can enjoy the synergy with other bioactive molecules beneficial for health and establish healthy eating habits”, notes Charles Couillard, one of the study authors.

Here's what gave Professor Couillard and Laurent Bazinet the idea, INAF, Michel Britten, INAF y AAC, and Denise Felix da Silva and Paula Matumoto-Pintro, State University of Maringá, in Brazil, to produce a high polyphenol cheese.

Previous work had shown that these molecules interact with milk proteins. It was maintained as the existence or not of these interactions that favor the transfer of polyphenols to cheese.

“Normally, when part of 100 kg of milk, one ends with 10 kg of cheese and 90 kg of buttermilk, said professor Britten. It was necessary to determine what percentage of polyphenols was found in the cheese match. ”

In a previous study, the researchers used polyphenols from green tea. “These molecules work well in cheese, but sensory tests were less conclusive, admite Michel Britten.

The cheese was greenish in color and made many mouths dry.. This problem is caused by the interaction between polyphenols and certain lubricating functions of proteins in saliva..

Among the results, they conclude that these molecules are not harmful for the recovery of protein and milk fat., which is important to maintain good performance.

In addition, up to the 87% of polyphenols added to milk was found in cheese. “The result was a few grams of this cheese contain the highest amount of polyphenols than grape juice in liters.”, dice Michel Britten.

This association between milk proteins and polyphenols has a great advantage, argues Prof.. Couillard. “It would protect polyphenols from degradation during digestion. This would allow them to remain intact until they reach the intestine where they exert their health effects.”

The results of this research were provided to Novalait, the Quebec milk producers and processors group that funded the work.