Free radical scavenging and antibacterial activities of southern Serbian red wines

Free radical scavenging and antibacterial activities were determined for several red wines from different grape varieties from the southern Serbia wine region. The amount of polyphenols and anthocyanins in selected wines was investigated and the potential antibacterial activity of the wines against pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was also determined. The free radical scavenging and antibacterial activity of the wines was correlated with polyphenolic and anthocyanin content. The significant differences in the antioxidant and antibacterial activities between the wines from grape cultivars (Cobernet Sauvingon and Pinot Noir) and the indigenous varieties (Vranac and Prokupac) were not confirmed. The hypothesis of a protective effect of red wine is supported by our results that show that the red wines with higher amounts of polyphenols and anthocyanins had higher antioxidant and antibacterial properties. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.