T.H. Sanders and R.W. McMichael, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Resveratrol has been associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and reduced cancer risk. This phytoalexin has been reported in a number of plant species including grapes and may be one of the compounds responsible for the health benefits of red wine. Recent reviews indicate the presence of resveratrol in peanuts; however, a search of the literature revealed no reports of resveratrol in edible peanuts. Resveratrol has been identified in peanut stems, hypocotyls, and germinating seed only after inoculation/incubation with fungi. Analytical methods for resveratrol in wine were adapted to isolate and identify resveratrol in edible peanuts. Ethanolic extracts of peanuts without seed coats were analyzed by HPLC using a C-18 reversed phase column. Quantitative analysis of three peanut market types from four production locations indicated a range of 1.7-3.7 ug/g compared to 0.6-8.0 ug/ml in red wines. Peanut seed coats contained about 1.5 ug/g.

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