Date of Award

5-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School

College of Education and Human Services

Department/Program

Nutrition and Food Studies

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Adrian Kerrihard

Committee Member

Douglas Murray

Committee Member

Evan Matthews

Abstract

With an increase in mortality rates related to obesity, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, and other related diseases, a greater understanding of the Mediterranean diet may be important to dietary treatment of these illnesses and comorbidities. While the foods in the Mediterranean diet have been studied in depth for their great health benefits, the potential role of wine in this diet is under examined. Interest in wine and its health benefits has increased within the past decade. While wine is a common component of the Mediterranean diet, very few studies have looked at the possible effects and outcomes of consuming wine in tandem with the foods in this diet. Studies which have explored the possible health benefits of consuming red wine with food have provided little to no examination of the chemical interactions that may be occurring, or the impact on antioxidant potential. PURPOSE: To explore the possible interaction effects on antioxidant capacity levels when pairing common foods and wines in the Spanish Mediterranean diet. METHODS: Three monovarietal wines and three individual foods common to the Spanish Mediterranean diet were evaluated. The foods and wines were tested alone and in each possible pairing (9 total pairings) for Trolox Equivalency Antioxidant Capacity against dilutions of Trolox using DPPH. The expected summative value for each pairing was compared to the actual value for each pairing. The actual antioxidant capacity of each pairing was then compared to the expected value using a one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: All data tested showed significant relevance when tested with one-way ANOVA in SPSS (p<0.05). Tomatoes had significantly negative (antagonistic) interaction effects in all three wine combinations. Spanish onions and persimmons had significantly positive (synergistic) interaction effects in all three wine pairings. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that antioxidants from different foods have distinct interactions on a molecular level that are non-additive. These results suggest that further research to identify food interactions is warranted.

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