Can red wine slow the growth of Chlamydia pneumoniae?

A team from the University of Illinois in Chicago has found that ingredients in red wine seem to behave like antibiotics and can help prevent the growth of Chlamydia pneumonia, a bacterium that recent investigations have suggested to be a causative factor in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. The team studied the effects on colonies of C. pneumoniae of extracts from pinot noir wine and resveratrol, a polyphenol found in wine. Both stunted the growth of the bacterial colony. This occurred even at the very low concentrations typically found in a glass of red wine.

Atherosclerosis 2003; 171: 379–80.