A polyphenol-enriched red wine powder affects recognition memory in mice

Red wine polyphenols have shown beneficial effects in animal models of metabolic syndrome, inflammatory and neurological diseases, and even in aged flies, worms and mice. To test the brain effects of polyphenols we produced a red wine powder (WP) by freeze-drying encapsulation in a maltodextrin/arabic gum matrix. Then, we tested the WP effects on habituation and recognition memory in C57/BL6 mice, performing open field (OF)/novel object recognition (NOR) behavioral analysis. We observed that 34 days after oral administration of 3% WP the habituation memory evaluated in the OF remained unaffected. Unexpectedly, we detected an impairment in the NOR performance after 24 hours of 3% WP treatment, evidenced as significant reductions in the discrimination and recognition indexes. On the other hand, the chemical analysis of the WP showed good antioxidant capacity in vitro and high levels of polyphenols, demonstrating the concentration capacity of the WP production process. The observed memory effects cannot be attributed solely to polyphenols, the hypothesized bioactive fraction. The wine dry matter is a complex matrix containing glycerol, organic acids and other non-phenolic compounds that may independently influence cognition. Therefore, additional experiments are essential before drawing any definitive conclusions.