Toward a rational approach for polyphenol usage in the shelf-life extension of oenological products

The durability of food items, i.e. their shelf life, plays a crucial role in optimizing their quality and exploitation with the aim of limiting food and beverage waste. The primary factor contributing to prolonged deterioration is the oxidation of food products, leading to the generation of by-products that compromise their sensory qualities, such as off-flavors and organoleptic features in general. Concerning beverages, and wine in particular, polyphenols from wood and grapes extracts have gained significant popularity as natural agents able to preserve the quality and desired features due to their recognized antioxidant and anti-radical properties. Although the ability of oak to release polyphenols able to enhance the long-term stability of wines is widely acknowledged, effective methods for monitoring both their kinetics of oxidation and browning are still lacking. A spectrophotometric approach was exploited to develop a novel method for monitoring wine oxidation in the attempt of filling the gap. Such approach was successfully applied to track qualitatively the aging kinetics in oxidative conditions using a wine simulant with the addition of 16 natural extracts. Chestnut and oak extracts resulted the most performing in both hue conservation and oxidized species limitation. Principal component analysis demonstrated that polyphenol of different class can be recognized even after 30 days of oxidation, thus suggesting potential applications of the method in quality and conformity control of polyphenol extracts. The results allow a rational choice of the best polyphenol extract for each specific application in wines, with potential application to other beverages and foods.