Simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds in selected Italian red wine

Over the years, pathological implications have often been remarked in the free radicals formation in the human body, underlining how a diet rich in antioxidant substances can be able to limit oxidative damage. Free radicals are extremely harmful to living organisms to do they attack different constituents cell, which leads to acceleration of the ageing process and sometimes, even, cell destruction or, if the DNA is involved, irreversible malfunctions. Nowadays, a wide range of food and drink, regularly consumed, have a high antioxidant capacity. So, a balanced and sustained intake of these substances with antioxidant characteristics is recommended in the diet. Grapes and grape products, particularly red wine, are a rich source of antioxidant compounds that, as well as their influence to the colour and organoleptic properties, have also beneficial to human health. Scientific reports show that the antioxidant potential of wine is closely related to its content in phenolic compounds. The phenolic composition in wine is affected by a number of factors, including grape variety, fermentation processes, vinification techniques, aging and geographical and environmental factors (soil type and climate). In this work, the selected italian red wines of the appellation of origin (DOC) were assayed for their polyphenolic content. The total polyphenols content (TPC) was determined by the method of Folin-Ciocalteau. The concentration of eight individual phenolic compounds was determined using a reversed-phase performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV/Vis detector.