###### Abstract  
Studies of the cardioprotective effects of wine are mainly focused on red wines, due to their much higher content of bioactive compounds relative to white wines. Although some studies indicate a cardioprotective effect of white wine, there is no clear consensus on the existence of additional benefits of white wine over ethanol. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of moderate consumption of white wine and ethanol on the survival of rats subjected to surgically induced myocardial infarction (MI). Male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 74) were randomized into three groups: water only, white wine or a 13% \(\
icefrac{{}}{{}}\)v/\(\circ\) ethanol/water solution. After a four-week drinking period, MI was induced by ligating the left anterior descending artery. The survival rate was highest in the wine group (72.2%), and lowest in the water only group (47.8%). There was no statistically significant difference in survival between the ethanol and water groups. An analysis linking drinking volumes to survival outcomes revealed that lower ethanol consumption was more prevalent in rats that survived, indicating an upper limit for the protective effects of ethanol. An opposite finding was noticed in the wine group, where no deaths occurred in rats with an average daily white wine consumption of approximately 10 mL or more. We conclude that moderate consumption of white wine has a positive effect on survival after a myocardial infarction, which cannot be attributed only to ethanol, but also to other white wine constituents.  
myocardial infarction; white wine; ethanol; rat; mortality; LAD ligation +
Footnote †: journal: Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Split School of Medicine, 21000 Split, Croatia  
beneficial effects of moderate consumption of wine [5, 8, 16]. Studies of the cardioprotective effects of wine, however, were mainly focused on red wines due to their much higher content of bioactive compounds when compared to white wines [17]. Although some studies have indicated cardioprotective effects of white wine [18, 19], there is no clear consensus on the existence of additional cardioprotective effects of white wine over ethanol. This is in part due to epidemiological studies that generally do not differentiate between the two wine types or do not account for the ratios of red and white wine intake in subjects who drink both wine types.  
The aim of this study was to find out whether prior moderate white wine consumption reduces mortality after a surgically induced MI in rats. In order to determine whether white wine constituents besides ethanol contribute to the result, in addition to water drinking controls and the white wine drinking group, we also included a group of animals drinking a water solution of ethanol. We also examined the relationship between the survival outcome and the amount of alcoholic beverage consumed by individual animals.  
Controlled studies on humans focusing on the effect of alcoholic beverages on mortality after a MI are practically impossible to perform due to technical and ethical considerations. Consequently, such studies are mostly retrospective and based on patients' statements, making it hard to account for all confounding factors that might obscure the real effect. Therefore, an experiment using the proposed animal model under controlled interventional conditions would offer a clearer view of a cause-effect relationship.