Background
Metabolic changes in postprandial state particularly after fatty meals lead to atherosclerosis progression. Verjuice is an acidic juice made from unripe grape, commonly used as a popular ingredient in Iran. In this study the acute effects of verjuice intake on postprandial values of some biochemical atherosclerosis risk factors in rabbits fed high-cholesterol diets were investigated to see if it has is a possible protective role.
Material and Method
Rabbits were allowed free access to diets containing: no cholesterol, 1% cholesterol, 1% cholesterol with 5 ml of verjuice, and 1% cholesterol with 10 ml of verjuice. C-reactive protein (CRP), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitrite, nitrate, glucose, LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL), total cholesterol (TC), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), triglyceride (TG), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A(ApoA), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), and fibrinogen levels were measured before and three hours after feeding these diets.
Results
Significant differences were observed in fibrinogen and glucose levels between the high-cholesterol diet with 5 and 10 ml verjuice and the high-cholesterol diet alone. Using 10 ml verjuice with the the high-cholesterol diet caused a significant reduction in ox-LDL, MDA, and nitrite compared with the high-cholesterol diet alone. No significant difference was found between the groups receiving verjuice and the high-cholesterol diet group in TC, HDL-C, TG, LDL-C, ApoA, ApoB, SGPT, SGOT, nitrate, or CRP.
Conclusions
These results suggest that there might be an acute protective effect in the postprandial use of verjuice on some of the risk factors of atherosclerosis, particularly as an antioxidant.

Keywords: Transaminases - blood, Risk Factors, Risk, Oxygen - metabolism, Malondialdehyde - metabolism, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Fibrinogen - metabolism, Cholesterol - metabolism, Blood Glucose - metabolism, Beverages, Atherosclerosis - metabolism, Antioxidants - metabolism, Vitis - metabolism