Metabolic constituents of grapevine and grape-derived products

The numerous uses of the grapevine fruit, especially for wine and beverages, have made it one of the most important plants worldwide. The phytochemistry of grapevine is rich in a wide range of compounds. Many of them are renowned for their numerous medicinal uses. The production of grapevine metabolites is highly conditioned by many factors like environment or pathogen attack. Some grapevine phytoalexins have gained a great deal of attention due to their antimicrobial activities, being also involved in the induction of resistance in grapevine against those pathogens. Meanwhile grapevine biotechnology is still evolving, thanks to the technological advance of modern science, and biotechnologists are making huge efforts to produce grapevine cultivars of desired characteristics. In this paper, important metabolites from grapevine and grape derived products like wine will be reviewed with their health promoting effects and their role against certain stress factors in grapevine physiology

Weight increase in patients with dementia, and alteration in meal routines and meal environment after integrity promoting care

AIMS: To follow weight changes in patients with moderate and severe dementia and analyse how these changes related to biological and psychological parameters after staff education and support in integrity promoting care. A further aim was to describe meal environment and routines relative to the intervention. BACKGROUND: Weight loss in patients with dementia and in particular Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is common. The etiology appears multifactorial with the meal environment and a decreased independence while eating among the factors. METHOD: Over a three-month intervention period, an integrity-promoting care training program was conducted with the staff of a long-term ward. AD patients, 18 from an intervention ward and 15 from a control ward were included and possible effects were evaluated. Weighing was conducted at the start and after completion of the intervention. Weight changes were analyzed in relation to psychological and biochemical parameters. In addition, the staff wrote diaries about e.g. changes made in the environment and in their work.RESULTS: The most prominent difference observed was weight increases in 13 of 18 patients compared to two of 15 patients in the control ward. No weight changes were related to the type of dementia. The individual weight changes correlated significant to changes in the intellectual functions. Relationships between weight change, increased motor function and increased appetite were non-significant. There was no significant relationship between weight changes and changes in biochemical parameters. According to the staff, increased contact with the patients and a more pleasant atmosphere resulted when the meal environment and routines were changed. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Weight gain in patients with moderate and severe dementia was achieved by adjusting the meal environment to the individual’s needs. Staff education was profitable, as increased competence seemed to promote individually adapted feeding situations. Ensuring good meal situations need to be given high priority.</p