White grape (Vitis vinifera) skin phenolic extract impacts DSS-induced embryonic intestinal stress (in ovo)Download PDF Download PDF ArticleOpen accessPublished: 11 September 2026Melissa Y. Huang ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0005-3986-93061 &Elad Tako1 npj Science of Food (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved research We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply.AbstractGrape pomace, or the skin, seed, and pulp byproduct of wine and grape juice production, presents a valuable opportunity to repurpose an abundant material with potential health benefits. In particular, white grape (Vitis vinifera) skins contain phenolic compounds including condensed tannins and quercetin glycosides which are associated with reduced intestinal inflammation and ameliorated barrier loss in adult in vivo models. However, the impact of white grape skin phenolics on intestinal function during embryonic development, a foundational period for establishing long-term intestinal health, is less studied. We utilized a chicken embryo (in ovo) model challenged with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced intestinal stress to evaluate the bioactivity of a white grape skin phenolic extract. The extract normalized DSS-induced duodenal goblet cell loss, colonic crypt hyperplasia, and cecal dysbiosis. DSS altered both duodenal and colonic zonula occludens 2 expression as well as colonic occludin expression, which GSkE had trending, but insignificant, normalizing effects. Altogether, white grape skin phenolics have the potential to affect early-life intestinal function with further study of its optimal dose, phenolic fractions, and target consumer base.AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank Dr. Qiang (Robert) Sui, Dr. Bruce Pan, and Dr. Nick Dokoozlian for their invaluable contributions to this project including, but not limited to, conducting the phenolic compositional analyses, reviewing this manuscript, and advising throughout the project’s development and duration.FundingThis study was funded in part by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. The funder played no role in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data, or the writing of this manuscript.Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsFood Science Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USAMelissa Y. Huang & Elad TakoAuthorsMelissa Y. HuangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarElad TakoView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to Elad Tako.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.Additional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Rights and permissionsOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.Reprints and permissionsAbout this article