Effects of grape juice, red wine and resveratrol on liver parameters of rat submitted high-fat diet

Abstract This work evaluated the effect of grape juice, red wine and resveratrol in liver parameters of rats submitted to high-fat diet. Experimental model was conducted with groups of adult females Rattus norvegicus: control (CG); high-fat (HG); grape juice (JG); red wine (RW) and resveratrol solution (RG). The high-fat diet significantly altered hepatocytes and Kupffer cells in all treated groups. HG group presented severe steatosis followed hepatocyte ballooning and tissue damages. JG group minimized hepatic histological lesion caused by high-fat diet and WG group also induced steatosis and inflammation in hepatocytes, similar to HG. Still, resveratrol protected the tissue against fatty liver disease by reducing fat infiltration and inflammation, indicating possible therapeutic effects on the liver. Cell cycle analysis showed that HG promoted damage to the tissue, reducing the viable cell content and increasing apoptosis, even when associated with wine consumption or isolated resveratrol. However, JG protected the liver against cell damage generated by the diet. Consumption of grape juice, even associated with a high-fat diet, represents a promising protection of the liver against cellular damage, but red wine further affects the tissue, and resveratrol alone was able to reduce damage but did not minimize cellular damage to the liver.