Lead poisoning could be responsible of the fall of the Roman Empire.Lead’s physical characteristics make it an ideal metal for the manufacture of containers and theoretically can be used to make vessels to hold water or wine but, there is a significant problem: while in contact with pure water,lead is insoluble; however, acidic components in water and other liquids can react chemically with the lead to bring dangerous toxic compounds into solution.

Lead has strong affinities with the sulphhydric groups of proteins. Fixed in an irreversible way on the bones, it also attacks the nervous system and finally patients present strong abdominal pain. Fatigue, pain in the kidneys and progressive deterioration of intelligence, are some of the symptoms, which lead the individual to a terrible and inevitable death. Roman “high society”, was probably, the first to use wine as an everyday drink. Unfortunately for them, they had also found the best way of contaminating their “divine drink” with lead.
They used to concentrate the grape juice by heating it slowly in copper containers. This concentrated must (defructum in Latin) was kept in lead containers.They employed it to sweeten cakes or liquids such as wine. Tradition insisted on the idea that this defructum had to be stored in lead containers, conferring it a bitter taste that Romans loved.

This defructum was thus used for the sweetening of wines kept for consumption, in containers other than barrels. A modern winemaker would say: “How insane were these Romans, their wines would ferment again!”
In normal conditions, he would be right, because Romans did not have SO2 (sulphur) for microbiological stabilization. But it is also right to say that the modern winemaker forgot a detail: Lead acetate is a strong inhibitor of micro-organisms and the wine merchants of that time (without really knowing the reason) preferred those wines treated with this defructum because they were more stable.Some consequences: It should nevertheless be specified that only the Roman aristocracy had sufficient means to buy such a “fine” product.

During the first 200 years of Christian era, all Roman emperors drank enormous quantities of wine. For example, it is said that during the orgies of Lucullus at least 4000 hl were consumed at a time. At that time, ignorance of the effects of lead had enormous consequences to the Roman people.

Frequent attacks of madness suffered by some emperors and members of the aristocracy can be explained by lead poisoning, as can the many assassinations and treasons, as well as the degradation of the public morals.It is believed that at least 2/3 of the Roman “of” high society were affected by lead poisoning. It is obvious that people controlled by demented leaders had to suffer from terrible injustices and abuse. That probably explains the Roman cruelty in the circus plays and other public massacres.

But in the history, we have seen worse… During the XVIth and the XVIIth centuries, some English traders would unscrupulously add lead oxide to the young wines “to improve their flavors and taste” and to stop deterioration. The doctors of the time quickly recognized relation between these practices and the symptoms corresponding to intoxication by lead.

They concluded that the culprit was the “innocent wine”. Some sweet wine in bottle dating from 1770 and 1820, were analyzed and found to contain between 300 - 1900 mg/l of lead. Currently the tolerance level of lead content in wine is fixed at 0,25mg/l by the OIV. Obviously, the English consumer of the time did not think of their health…All this happened in the past…

Today, scientific research very regularly finds new benefits to human health in the components of wine. But, … what is happening today…, let’s take a look at the press and some scientific articles. Red wine: a remedy against ageing According to a recent study published in the Nature scientific review; moderate red wine consumption would possibly lengthen life expectancy.

This conclusion is based on an analysis carried out on yeasts, which show that the life expectancy of these micro-organisms is prolonged thanks to resveratrol, a polyphenol in red wine. According to Doctor Sinclair and his colleagues of the Medical School of Harvard University in the United States, the consumption of resveratrol activates the enzyme SIR2, which is supposed to slow down ageing by stabilizing the ADN.

In statements made in the New York Times, Doctor Leonard Guarante, from MIT, declared that if humans react in the same way to resveratrol as this micro organism, it would be possible to lengthen life expectancy by 30%. Thus, a person who starts to consume resveratrol at 50 years old could gain 10 additional years of life.

Phytoalexins and Resveratrol.Origin and role in human’s health.Resveratrol is one of the best studied grape phytoalexins.
- For its role in the grape/pathogen interactions.- -
- For its role in human’s health.

Origin of phytoalexins
- Phytoalexins are compounds synthesized by plants in response to various stresses.
- In grapes, these compounds belong to the stilbene family, including resveratrol, pterostilbene and viniferins (resveratrol oligomers).
- They are accumulated in the vine leaves and the grapes in response to attacks by pathogens or abiotics such as UV.Role in human health
Plant extracts containing resveratrol were indeed used in Japanese and Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of a number of diseases as hyper lipidemia, arteriosclerosis, or inflammations.

It is now largely accepted that a moderate wine consumption reduces significantly the risk of cardiovascular diseases.Resveratrol could also have chemo protective effects against cancer.Specific effects on human health.
Reduces LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins), cholesterol transporters.
- Reduces oxidative enzyme activity and captures free radicals.
- Reduces tumor possibility.
- Direct action against cancer cells.

Wine and chocolate in a healthy diet : A team of researchers studied a diet made up of wine, fish, black chocolate, fruits, vegetables, almond and garlic, which seems to allow a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases and seems to improve life expectancy for more than six years for men and five for women.

Published in “The British Medical Newspaper” this study measured the effects of this diet and compared its benefit on health with those of a cocktail of drugs, which is supposed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases with more than 80%. The diet, which included an amount of 150 ml of wine and 100gr of black chocolate per day, could be almost as effective (75%), but also less expensive and definitely more pleasant to swallow.

Wine would have an antibacterial effect :
A recent American study stated that not drinking wine during a meal could be seriously harmful to ones health. A team of scientists highlighted the importance of wine in fighting the stomach’s dangerous bacteria, called salmonella. These researchers created an artificial stomach, and then filled it with food and synthetic gastric juice, salmonella and, according to the case, either with wine or with grape juice.

After 120 minutes spent in the stomach with wine, the salmonella bacteria were undetectable, whereas they survived in the stomach containing the grape juice. This antibacterial effect would be even higher if the wine was more acid.Penicillin cures the human beings, but, it is wine which makes them happy…

A. Fleming : This article is based on the articles of : “La journée Vinicole”; Mr.Armando Viera (Viñedos y Vinos 1996); Dr. Wells Shoemaker (Practical Winery and Vineyards) and Mr. Matthieu Poussier et all (Influence of Different Maceration Techniques and Microbial Enzymatic Activities on Wine Stilbene Content).

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