Red and White Wine Lees Show Inhibitory Effects on Liver Carcinogenesis

Scope Wine has shown anticarcinogenic benefits in hepatocarcinoma and polyphenols seem to be responsible for these effects. Wine lees are the sediments produced during fermentation and they endow wine with organoleptic and physicochemical properties. However, the anticarcinogenic role of these compounds is still unknown. Thus, the purpose of this work is to determine the phytochemical profiles of wine lees and then to analyze their anticarcinogenic effect and DNA methylation on a model of hepatocarcinogenesis. Methods and results The phytochemical composition of lees is determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method and high‐performance liquid chromatography. An in vivo study using a diethyl nitrosamine‐hepatocarcinogenesis‐induced model is performed to investigate the hepatoprotective properties of different doses of wine lees. For the DNA methylation analysis, a bisulfite‐based method is used. Both types of lees mostly contain pyrogallol, gallic, and syringic acid with a high content of catechins in red lees. The carcinogen hypermethylates the Alu‐M2 repetitive sequence and white lees decreases the hypermethylation at all tested concentrations. Low concentration of red and white lees and high concentration of white lees significantly improve the hepatocellular architecture and decrease the mitotic index in the murine model. Conclusion These findings suggest that wine lees are promising agents for chemoprevention of hepatocarcinoma. Wine lees contains pyrogallol, gallic, and syringic acid with a content of catechins in red lees. The carcinogen hypermethylates the Alu‐M2 sequence and white lees decreases the hypermethylation. A marked inhibitory effect of white lees and a small effect of red lees in low doses are observed on liver carcinogenesis. Wine lees are promising agents for hepatocarcinoma chemoprevention.