| Abstract
| - Wine can be considered an integral part of the Mediterranean diet. Evidence from epidemiologicaland experimental studies suggests a protective effect against the development of coronary heartdisease with moderate consumption of wine and especially red wine. The exact nature of the protectiveeffect remains to be established. However, mechanisms including low-density lipoproteins oxidation,inhibition of platelet aggregation, modification of eicosanoid metabolism, and endothelium-dependentrelaxation of blood vessels are recognized as contributory. In this study, a new approach has beenexamined, based on previous reports that platelet-activating factor (PAF) is involved in atherogenesis.An attempt was made to detect key components in wine/must that through inhibition of PAF actionmay contribute to the protective role of white wine/must against atherosclerosis. More specifically,polar lipids from four wines and three musts were fractionated by thin-layer chromatography, andfractions were tested in vitro for their ability to inhibit PAF and thrombin-induced washed rabbit plateletaggregation and/or to cause platelet aggregation. On the basis of the above results, a white winefrom the principle Greek grape Rompola and its respective must with and without extra yeast werechosen for further high-performance liquid chromatography separation. A significant number ofbiological active lipids were detected, and structural data for the most active lipids are provided. Keywords: Wine; must; biologically active lipids; platelet-activating factor; PAF; atherosclerosis;coronary heart disease
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