Findings from a team at the University of Illinois, published in New Scientist magazine, conclude that red wine acts as an antibiotic in the body. The scientists tested the effects of concentrated extracts from Pinot Noir wine and resveratrol – a chemical found in the wine – on certain bacteria, and found that both compounds stunted the growth of colonies of bacteria.

One strand of bacteria that wine was found to kill is chlamydia pneumoniae, which scientists say can aggravate inflammation and slow arteries by leaving fatty deposits. Wine kills potentially fatal bacteria, scientists have discovered.