June 22, 2007 7:00 PM
- Text
Wine May Curb Cavities, Study Shows
- Osteoporosis Medication Linked to Unusual Thigh Fractures
- Some Men May Inherit a Higher Risk of Heart Disease From Dad
- Tai Chi Improves Symptoms of Parkinson?s Disease
- Doctors? Honesty Put to the Test
- Would You Like to ?Downsize? That?
- Gene Therapy Helps People With Inherited Blindness See
- More from WebMD »
study shows wines prevent cavities (CBS/AP)
(WebMD)
Even with the alcohol removed, red wine and white wine may fight bacteria that cause cavities, an Italian study shows.
Before you toast the findings, remember that the study was done in test tubes. So it's too soon to count on a glass of wine to chase your cavities away.
The researchers, who work at Italy's University of Pavia, included Gabriella Gazzani, Ph.D.
First, they went to a local grocery store, where they bought some valpolicella (an Italian red wine) and pinot nero (an Italian white wine).
Back at their lab, the researchers stripped the alcohol out of the wine. They did that to prevent ethanol from interfering with their lab tests.
Next, the researchers marinated cavity-causing streptococcal bacteria in the wines. Both types of wine countered those bacteria and other streptococcal bacteria that cause some cases of throat infection.
Red wine might have had more antibacterial properties than white wine, but that wasn't certain, Gazzani's team notes.
The researchers also isolated acids found in red wine and white wine and tested those acids against the same bacteria, which are called S. mutans and S. pyogenes.
The isolated acids were more effective against the bacteria than the wines. So the researchers reason that while wine fights S.mutans and
S. pyogenes, wine also contains compounds that dilute those benefits, to some extent.
The study appears online in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.
© 2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved
Before you toast the findings, remember that the study was done in test tubes. So it's too soon to count on a glass of wine to chase your cavities away.
The researchers, who work at Italy's University of Pavia, included Gabriella Gazzani, Ph.D.
First, they went to a local grocery store, where they bought some valpolicella (an Italian red wine) and pinot nero (an Italian white wine).
Back at their lab, the researchers stripped the alcohol out of the wine. They did that to prevent ethanol from interfering with their lab tests.
Next, the researchers marinated cavity-causing streptococcal bacteria in the wines. Both types of wine countered those bacteria and other streptococcal bacteria that cause some cases of throat infection.
Red wine might have had more antibacterial properties than white wine, but that wasn't certain, Gazzani's team notes.
The researchers also isolated acids found in red wine and white wine and tested those acids against the same bacteria, which are called S. mutans and S. pyogenes.
The isolated acids were more effective against the bacteria than the wines. So the researchers reason that while wine fights S.mutans and
S. pyogenes, wine also contains compounds that dilute those benefits, to some extent.
The study appears online in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
- Looking for ways to keep your teeth healthy? Join others on WebMD's Dental Health Support Group message board.
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.
© 2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved
Popular Now in Health
- America's sodium problem: Not from salty snacks?
- Doctors push for early detection of dementia
- Caffeine inhalers - the next club drug?
- Woman receives world's first 3D printed jaw
- Deep vein thrombosis risk low in economy class
- Green tea linked to less disability in elderly
- Egg recall in 34 states over Listeria concerns
- Online dating full of downsides, new study says
- STD rates rise among elderly: Why?
- Lyme disease map pinpoints high-risk areas
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- Things You Didn't Know About Your Penis
- PICTURES: 15 Shocking Sexual Fetishes
- Scottish twins, 102, are world's oldest: Guinness
- McDonald's scraps "pink slime" from burgers
- College sells morning-after pill in vending machine
- Demi Moore's hospitalization spotlights whippets
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Bloodletting underway in Syria, as rebels falter
- What earnings reports have revealed about ads
- On the Call: Groupon CEO Andrew Mason
- Vita Coco settles lawsuit on nutrition contents
on Facebook
- Calif. surfer runs fastest-growing camera company
- Americans getting too much sodium, but not from salty snacks
- Mo. teen gets life in prison for murder of 9-year-old girl
on CBS News
