Resveratrol is a natural compound found in some plants. It is classified as a phytoalexin, which means it is part of the plant's natural defense system, helping it to fight off bacteria and disease. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, phytoalexins offer health benefits to humans, including helping to lower cholesterol, fight cancer, reduce inflammation and release antioxidants, which help fight off aging-related diseases. Resveratrol is a powerful phytoalexin, found in a limited number of foods.
Grapes and Grape Products
The best food source of resveratrol is grapes, but it is found in the skins. This is the reason that wine, particularly red wine, has such a high resveratrol content. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, the longer the fermentation process, the longer the contact with grape skins, which will increase the amount of resveratrol in the wine.
If you don't drink alcohol, you can still enjoy resveratrol from grapes. You can eat the grapes fresh, as 1 cup of red grapes contains 0.24 to 1.25 milligrams (mg) of resveratrol, or drink pure grape juice. However, the World's Healthiest Foods Encyclopedia reports that you would need to drink six glasses of purple grape juice to get the same resveratrol content that two glasses of red wine provide. Again, this will depend upon the fermentation time of the wine, as well as the purity of the grape juice.
Berries
Along with grapes, dark red or purple berries also contain resveratrol. These berries are primarily from the vaccinium family of berry plants, which are low-growing shrubs. They include blueberries, cranberries, bilberries, mulberries and huckleberries. While berries contain other health-promoting compounds along with resveratrol, a study in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that berries contain less than 10 percent of the amount of resveratrol found in grapes and that cooking or heating the berries will reduce their resveratrol content.
Peanuts
Yes, peanuts. The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that peanuts, along with pistachios, contain resveratrol. Peanut products, such as peanut butter, also have resveratrol content. While it was noted above that when berries are cooked they lose some of their resveratrol, it is the opposite for peanuts. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, raw peanuts contain 0.01 to 0.26 mg of resveratrol per 1 cup serving, but boiled peanuts contain 0.32 to 1.28 mg per serving.
Japanese Knotweed
Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) is known more as an invasive weed than as a food source. However, this invasive plant is edible. A report from the University of Connecticut states that if the shoots are harvested before they are a foot tall, they can be cooked and eaten as a substitute for asparagus. You can also boil the rind of the shoot with sugar and use it as a substitute for rhubarb. To obtain resveratrol from Japanese knotweed, however, it is best consumed as a dietary supplement. The National Institutes of Health Dietary Supplements Label Database reports show that most supplemental resveratrol is derived from Japanese knotweed root extract.
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