Vitis vinifera

For thousands of years, the fruit and plant of Vitis vinifera, the European wine grape, have been harvested for both medicinal and nutritional value; its history is intimately entwined with the history of wine. Use of grapes goes back at least 6,000 years ago when Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians had farming plans for the vines [1]. Greek philosophers praised the healing powers of grapes both whole and in the form of wine. Grape cultivation and wine making in China took place before the Han Dynasty in 206BC [2]. Using the sap of grape vines, European folk healers cured skin and eye diseases. Another historical use include the leaves being used to stop bleeding, pain and inflammation of hemorrhoids. For treating sore throats unripe grapes were used, raisins were given as treatments for consumption (tuberculosis), constipation and thirst. For the treatment of cancer, cholera, smallpox, nausea, skin and eye infections as well as kidney and liver diseases, ripe grapes were used. Seedless grape varieties were developed to appeal to fickle consumers, but researchers are now discovering that many of the healthful properties of grapes may actually come from the seeds themselves. Modern research on resveratrol, a chemical found in grape skins, as a tool against cardiovascular disease, cancer and aging, has begun to back up some of the assertions of the folk healers. The research says, "Resveratol has been shown to modulate the metabolism of lipids, and to inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins and the aggregation of platelets." [3] Grape seed oil, from the crushed seeds is used for its perceived wide range of health benefits.

Vinifera grapes were originally native to Asia somewhere near the Caspian Sea, but were imported to Europe in prehistory. They followed European colonies around the world, coming to North America around the 1600's, and to Africa, South America and Australia. In North America it hybridized with native grape species. Some of these were intentional hybrids created to combat phylloxera, an insect pest which affected vinifera grapes to a much greater extant than North American ones. Later North American rootstocks became widely used to graft true vinifera varieties.

This plant's climbing vine has large, jagged leaves, and its stem bark tends to peel. The grapes may be green, red, or purple.

References

• Chan, WK; Delucchi, AB. (Nov 10, 2000). Resveratrol, a red wine constituent, is a mechanism-based inactivator of cytochrome P450 3A4. Life Sciences 66 (8), 663–673.
• China Wine Online. The History of China Wine.
• History-of-wine.com. (June 10, 2004). The History of Wine.