Raisins in human health: A review

• Published in: BIO web of conferences Vol. 7; p. 4005
• Main Authors: Restani, Patrizia, Frigerio, Gianfranco, Colombo, Francesca, de Sousa, Luis Peres, Altindişli, Ahmet, Pastor, Raul Francisco, Lorenzo, Chiara Di
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Les Ulis EDP Sciences 2016
• Subjects: Blood glucose; chemical constituents of plants; diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diet; glucose; grapes; Health promotion; hyperinsulinemia; Mediterranean diet; oral health; Oral hygiene; Raisins; Snack foods; Sugar; sugar content
• ISSN: 2117-4458; 2273-1709; 2117-4458
• DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20160704005

In the last years, the scientific research in the field of non-alcoholic grape products has increased significantly. Raisins are often evaluated negatively from the nutritional point of view, mainly for their high sugar content. On the other hand, some in vitroand in vivostudies have suggested that raisins could have healthy effects due to their positive phytochemical profile. The aim of this work was the collection of scientific studies performed in humans to assess critically the health-promoting effects of raisins, as a part of the normal/Mediterranean diet. In most cases, the beneficial effects of raisins have been assessed in intervention studies focused on cardiovascular area, diabetes and oral health, where a decrease in postprandial glycemia and insulinemia both in diabetic and healthy subjects has been observed. The positive effects were generally evident after a short-term consumption of about 70 g/die of raisins in comparison to a similar quantity of snacks or glucose solution. Surprisingly, some positive findings were shown in oral health. On these bases several findings support the suitability of raisins as a source of healthy compounds for human diet, but limits in the data published till now clearly support the need of new specifically designed trials.