研究者或已破解喝红酒头痛这一古老谜团【外刊每日精选精读】
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2023-12-18 12:19:59
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researchers may have solved age-old mystery of red wine headachesFor the Greek philosopher Celsus , wine was the answer to endless ailments, from fatigue and fever to coughs and constipation. But despite its convenient healing powers, the grape, he conceded to his faithful readers, could bring about the odd headache. Now, researchers believe they have hit on the reason why wine-red wine, in particular-causes such swift and undeserved headaches. When the liver breaks down a particular ingredient, it produces a substance that has the same effects as a drug used to make alcoholics feel dreadful if they drink.在希腊哲学家塞尔苏斯（Celsus）看来，葡萄酒是治疗无数疾病的灵丹妙药，不论是疲劳、发烧还是咳嗽、便秘。但葡萄酒除了有这神通广大的治病能力之外，他也向忠诚的读者承认，葡萄酒有时候也会引起奇怪的头痛。现在，研究人员认为，他们已经明白了为什么葡萄酒，尤其是红葡萄酒，会导致这种快速产生且不该出现的头痛。红酒内某种特定成分经肝脏分解后，会产生一种物质，这种物质和那些让酗酒者在喝酒时感到痛苦的药有相同的效果。“We think we are finally on the right track toward explaining this millennia-old mystery,” said Morris Levin, the director of the Headache Center at the University of California , San Francisco. “The next step is to test it scientifically on people who develop these headaches.” Red wine headaches are a different beast from the hangover variety the morning after the night before. Rather than coming on after a lengthy session, they can strike 30 minutes after drinking only one small glass.“我们认为，现在终于找到了解开这一千年之谜的正确方向，”加州大学旧金山分校头痛中心主任莫里斯·莱文（Morris Levin）说，“下一步就是在喝葡萄酒后出现头痛症状的患者身上以科学方法进行检验。”红酒头痛和第二天早上宿醉时的头痛不一样。前者并不会在长时间后才出现，而是饮酒30分钟后就会出现，即使只喝一小杯也不行。Since Celsus’s time, researchers have eyed all manner of red wine compounds in their search for the culprit. Tannins, sulphites, phenolic flavonoids and biogenic amines have all come under suspicion. So far, none has been nailed as a clear trigger. Writing in Scientific Reports, the US researchers said they homed in on phenolic flavonoids, compounds that derive from grape seeds and skin and which contribute to red wine’s colour, taste and “mouthfeel”. Levels of flavonoids can be 10 times higher in red wines than whites, making them prime candidates for causing immediate headaches. When people drink wine, the alcohol is metabolised to acetate in two steps. The first converts alcohol in the form of ethanol to acetaldehyde. The second turns acetaldehyde to acetate. Specific enzymes in the liver orchestrate each process.自塞尔苏斯时代以来，研究人员为了寻找葡萄酒后头痛的罪魁祸首，一直在关注各种红酒化合物。单宁、亚硫酸盐、酚类黄酮和生物胺都曾是怀疑对象。迄今为止，还没有发现任何一种物质是确定的诱发因素。美国研究人员在《科学报告》上写道，他们曾重点关注了酚类黄酮，这是葡萄籽、葡萄皮内含有的一种物质，也是这种物质让红酒有了这般的颜色、风味和“口感”。红葡萄酒中的类黄酮含量可能比白葡萄酒高10倍，这也使类黄酮成为即时头痛的主要诱因。人们喝葡萄酒的时候，酒精会经过两步分解为乙酸盐。第一步是乙醇转化为乙醛，第二步是乙醛转为乙酸盐。肝脏内特定的酶会调控每个过程。The researchers, including Prof Andrew Waterhouse , an expert in viticulture at the University of California, Davis, ran lab tests on more than a dozen compounds in red wine. One stood out. A flavanol called quercetin, found almost exclusively in red wine, is processed in the body into various substances. One of these, quercetin glucuronide, turned out to be particularly effective at blocking the enzyme that converts acetaldehyde into acetate. This could be key to solving the mystery. With the crucial enzyme suppressed, toxic acetaldehyde builds up in the bloodstream, the scientists believe. At high levels, this causes headaches, nausea, facial flushing and sweating. In fact, a drug called disulfiram blocks the same enzyme and is used to treat alcoholics by producing the same miserable symptoms if they drink.加州大学戴维斯分校（University of California, Davis）的葡萄栽培专家安德鲁·沃特豪斯教授（Prof Andrew Waterhouse）等研究人员对红葡萄酒中的十几种化合物进行了实验室测验。其中有一种化合物表现出了特殊性，这是一种叫做槲皮素的黄烷醇，几乎只存在于红葡萄酒中，在人体内会被分解为多种物质，其中一种是槲皮素葡糖苷酸。事实证明，这种物质能够十分有效地抑制将乙醛转化为乙酸盐的酶。这一点是解开谜题的关键线索。科学家认为，这种关键酶被抑制时，有毒的乙醛会在血液中积聚。浓度够高时，就会导致头痛、恶心、面部潮红和出汗。事实上，有种叫双硫仑的药物也能阻断相同的酶发挥作用，用于治疗酗酒者。也就是说，他们喝酒时也会出现相同的痛苦症状。According to the researchers, when susceptible people drink red wine with even modest amounts of quercetin they can develop a headache . Why some are more affected than others is unclear: their enzymes may be easier to block, or they may simply be more susceptible to toxic acetaldehyde. The team now hopes to test the theory with a clinical trial on the headache-inducing effects of red wines with different quercetin levels. Grapes make quercetin in response to sunlight, so grapes grown in exposed clusters, such as Napa Valley cabernets, can have five times more quercetin than other reds. Skin contact during fermentation, fining processes and ageing also affect quercetin levels. “It will be potentially very helpful for people who drink red wine to be able to choose wines less likely to cause headaches,” Levin said. “Also, winemakers may use our findings to reduce quercetin in their wines.”研究人员称，如果敏感型人群喝红酒，即使摄入的槲皮素量并不多也会头痛。至于为什么有些人要比其他人更易受影响，其原因尚不清晰。或许是因为他们体内的酶更易被抑制，或者他们只是更容易受到有毒乙醛的影响。现在该团队希望通过临床试验来验证该理论，探究含有不同水平槲皮素的红葡萄酒能在何种程度上诱发头痛。葡萄在阳光照射下会产生槲皮素，因此暴露在阳光下生长的葡萄，如纳帕谷赤霞珠葡萄，其槲皮素含量是其他红葡萄的五倍多。发酵、澄清和陈化过程中葡萄果皮与葡萄汁的接触也会影响葡萄酒中的槲皮素含量。“如果能自主选择饮用那些不太可能引发头痛的酒，那么这对于喝红酒的人来说可能非常有用，”莱文说，“此外，酿酒师或许也会利用我们的发现来降低红酒里的槲皮素含量。”1）原文：When the liver breaks down a particular ingredient, it produces a substance that has the same effects as a drug used to make alcoholics feel dreadful if they drink. 例句：Over time, the protein in the eggshell breaks down into its constituent amino acids.随着时间的推移,蛋壳中的蛋白质分解成其构成成分氨基酸。2）原文：Since Celsus’s time, researchers have eyed all manner of red wine compounds in their search for the culprit. 例句：The problem can be solved in all manner of ways.3）原文：Writing in Scientific Reports , the US researchers said they homed in on phenolic flavonoids, compounds that derive from grape seeds and skin and which contribute to red wine’s colour, taste and “mouthfeel”.例句：The report homed in on the weaknesses in the management structure.例句：Elegance, he believed, did not derive from abundance.When the liver breaks down a particular ingredient, it produces a substance that has the same effects as a drug used to make alcoholics feel dreadful if they drink.红酒内某种特定成分经肝脏分解后，会产生一种物质，这种物质和那些让酗酒者在喝酒时感到痛苦的药有相同的效果。l红色部分是主句，是主谓宾结构。紫色部分是when引导的时间状语从句；绿色部分是that引导的定语从句，修饰先行词substance。l橙色部分是过去分词短语做后置定语，修饰drug；蓝色部分是if引导的条件状语从句。Writing in Scientific Reports, the US researchers said they homed in on phenolic flavonoids, compounds that derive from grape seeds and skin and which contribute to red wine’s colour, taste and “mouthfeel”.美国研究人员在《科学报告》上写道，他们曾重点关注了酚类黄酮，这是葡萄籽、葡萄皮内含有的一种物质，也是这种物质让红酒有了这般的颜色、风味和“口感”。l红色部分是主句，是主谓宾结构，宾语是said的宾语从句，也就是绿色部分。橙色部分是现在分词短语作状语。l紫色部分是phenolic flavonoids的同位语。蓝色部分是that和which引导的两个定语从句，都修饰先行词compounds。聚会时，你是否喝点红酒就感觉头疼不止？有的人以为自己身体不适，还有人甚至怀疑喝到了假酒。美国加州大学戴维斯分校一项新研究揭露了背后的原因：一种被称为“槲皮素”的黄烷醇物质，可能是头痛的“罪魁祸首”。通常，喝一小杯红酒后30分钟到3小时内就会出现“红酒头痛”。加州大学戴维斯分校的科学家研究了为什么会发生这种情况，结果发现，红酒中天然存在的黄烷醇会干扰酒精的正常代谢，并可能导致头痛。该研究发表在《科学报告》杂志上。黄烷醇，被称为槲皮素，被认为是一种健康的抗氧化剂，天然存在于各种水果和蔬菜中，包括葡萄中。但当它与酒精一起代谢时，则可能会出现问题。研究人员发现，当槲皮素进入血液后会转化为另一种形式，即槲皮素葡萄糖苷酸，会阻止酒精的新陈代谢。研究者称，这与喝酒容易脸红机制相似。喝酒脸红是因为体内缺乏一种酶，即乙醛脱氢酶2，当这种酶不能很好地发挥作用，乙醛（一种刺激性物质）就更容易在体内堆积，导致脸红、头痛、恶心。换句话说，如果你喝酒容易脸红，再加上槲皮素对代谢的干扰，你就更容易喝完红酒又上脸又上头。研究人员还发现，不同种类和产地的红酒中，槲皮素含量差异很大。槲皮素的含量可能受到葡萄酒的酿造方式，包括发酵、澄清、陈酿等因素的影响。在某些情况下，像赤霞丹珠这样的品类，槲皮素含量可能会高出四到五倍。患有偏头痛或其他原发性头痛疾病的人群中，即便是饮用含有少量槲皮素的葡萄酒，也可能出现头痛。【1】研究人员发现红葡萄酒内含有的一种特定成分经过肝脏分解后会让人感到头痛。【2】研究人员为证实这一发现，接下来要在患者身上进行试验。【3】研究人员为了寻找红酒引起头痛的罪魁祸首，一直在关注各种红酒化合物。【4】现研究人员发现有一种化合物表现出了特殊性：一种叫做槲皮素的黄烷醇。【5】研究人员称，如果敏感型人群喝红酒，即使摄入的槲皮素量并不多也会头痛，但有些人比其他人更敏感的原因仍不确定。
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