Nutritional and metabolic indices in beverages after enzymatic degradation of starch.

Four types of wine, dry white, low-alcohol dry white, dry red and semi-sweet white, varied in their content of alcohol, reducing sugars, energy and glycerol in original and in freeze-dried samples. Four beer samples were treated with different α-amylases and had different contents of alcohol, energy, glycerol and reducing sugars in original and in freeze-dried samples. Male Wistar rats initially weighing 120 g were given diets based on starch 70.5, ovalbumin 18.0, sunflower oil 5.0, 1.0% cod liver oil, vitamins and minerals without or with freeze-dried beer at an equivalent of 6 ml beer daily or freeze-dried wine at an equivalent of 2 ml wine daily. Those intakes corresponded to intakes of about 3 litres of beer or 1 litre of wine daily for a man weighing 60 kg. Rats given dry or semi-sweet white wine gained significantly more weight than control rats. Growth of rats given beer was not significantly different from that of control rats given a beer-free diet. One of the beer diets resulted in reduced body weight gain compared with controls. The concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum was increased in rats given the dry white, low-alcohol white wine, and 2 beer diets. The concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum was increased in rats given semi-sweet white wine and significantly increased with a low-alcohol wine and 2 of the beer diets; dry white and dry red wines had no effect. Total cholesterol concentration in serum was decreased with dry red wine and total triglyceride concentration was increased by dry white wine. Serum urea was significantly reduced in rats given dry white, semi-sweet and low-alcohol dry white wine diets. Serum alkaline phosphatase values were lower in all groups given wine or beer diets than in controls.