Red wine may be used in the therapy of myocarditis

Myocarditis is one of the most commonly cardiovascular diseases in clinical practice, but the treatment is always limited at present. Considering the multifactorial etiology of myocarditis, a novel therapeutic agent with multi-bioactivties should be presented. Red wine has been recognized as a favorable natural medicine against a large number of pathologic conditions. Recent results indicate that red wine could effectively decrease inflammatory factors secretion, reduce the migration of neutrophils, antagonize oxidation, and regulate immunity. By these bioactivities of anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, and immunomodulation, red wine may be an effective therapeutic candidate to manage the symptoms and prevent the recurrence of myocarditis. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 808–810, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.