Ethyl caffeoate: Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric analysis in Verdicchio wine and effects on hepatic stellate cells and intracellular peroxidation

Analysis of Verdicchio (a white wine produced in Italy) with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS-MS) showed a concentration of ethyl caffeoate (CfE), a natural phenolic Substance, of 67.3 mu mol L-1; CfE was then purified from wine with preparative reversed phase HPLC and tested on rat hepatic stellate cell cultures (HSC). HSC proliferation induced by iron(III) nitrilotriacetate (FeNTA), a pro-oxidant agent (absorbance = 0.68 +/- 10.03 versus 0.32 +/- 0.02 in controls), was significantly inhibited by CfE starting at a concentration of 10 mu mol L-1 (absorbance = 0.45 +/- 0.01), with a maximal effect at 20 mu mol L-1 (absorbance = 0.32 +/- 0.02). The formation of intracellular hydroperoxides induced by FeNTA was significantly reduced by CfE starting at a concentration of 10 mu mol L-1 and completely prevented by CfE at a concentration of 20 mu mol L-1. The increase in alpha 1 (I) procollagen mRNA synthesis induced by FeNTA was inhibited by CfE starting at a concentration of 10 mu mol L-1 and almost completely at a concentration of 20 mu mol L-1. Thus, Verdicchio wine is a remarkable source (about seven-fold the bioactive concentration) of CfE, an interesting drug to be tested as an antifibrotic agent.