title: Profile of non-volatiles in whisky with regard to superoxide dismutase activity.
abstract: SOD (Superoxide dismutase)-like activities of 23 kinds of single malt whisky (Scotch and Japanese) were evaluated. There was a positive correlation between SOD-like activity and the maturation age of whisky that exceeded the difference resulting from the manufacturing region. The SOD-like activity of Yamazaki 18, a typical single malt whisky in Japan, was approximately 1333 U/ml and that of non-volatile components in the whisky was 388U/mg, indicating that single malt whisky generally has a very strong SOD-like activity. To elucidate their contribution to SOD-like activity, the non-volatile components of whisky (Yamazaki 18) were ultrafiltered and separated with a Diaion HP20/water-EtOH system. Elution of the fraction less than 5000 molecular weight (<5000 MW fraction) with 60% (v/v) EtOH contributed most to SOD-like activity of the whisky. As this elution contained a considerable amount of polyphenolics, the content and SOD-like specific activity of ellagic acid, gallic acid, and lyoniresinol--the main whisky polyphenolics--were evaluated. The contribution of these compounds to the SOD-like activity of whisky was approximately 15%. Polyphenolics in whisky were relatively distributed to a higher MW fraction compared to carbohydrates in whisky, and specific activity (SOD-like activity per weight) of the >10,000 MW fraction was greater than that of the <5000 MW fraction, although the content of this fraction was low. These results indicate that various polyphenolics with higher molecular weights also contribute to the SOD-like activity of whisky together with main whisky polyphenolics.
authors.affiliation: School of High Technology for Human Welfare, Tokai University, Nishino 317, Numazu, Shizuoka 410-0395, Japan. koga@wing.ncc.u-tokai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kunimasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koga
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tachihara
authors.forename: Norifumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shirasaka
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Sei-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koshimizu
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000032:analysis; D002523:Edible Grain; D008970:Molecular Weight; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D013482:Superoxide Dismutase