Resveratrol, an antioxidant polyphenol molecule, is found in some plants, most notably the skins and seeds of red grapes. This powerful antioxidant helps plants fend off invading pathogens and predators and also provides health benefits for people. Aside from red grapes, you can obtain resveratrol from a variety of fruits, nuts, seeds and grains, though in lesser quantities.
Red Wine and Grapes
Red wine has become famously healthy because of its high content of resveratrol. If you want to maximize your resveratrol intake through wine drinking buy organic, says registered dietitian Barbara Rowe, co-author of the book "Anti-Inflammatory Foods for Health: Hundreds of Ways to Incorporate Omega-3 Rich Foods Into Your Diet to Fight Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, and More." Grape plants that are sprayed with insecticides and fungicides tend to produce less resveratrol because they are artificially protected. Also, cool, humid climates prompt more resveratrol production, so add high altitude grapes to your wine shopping list. Rowe recommends pinot noir, cabernet and syrah varieties.
Peanuts
Peanuts contain relatively high amounts of resveratrol, with up to 1.28 mg per cup of boiled peanuts and as much as 0.13 mg per cup of peanut butter, according to Jane Higdon, Ph.D., author of the book "An Evidence-Based Approach to Dietary Phytochemicals." Fungal infections tend to elicit a strong resveratrol response in some plants and researchers at the Department of Food Technology, Hungkuang University, Taiwan found that infecting peanut plants with the beneficial mushroom reishi produced a highly medicinal product, containing the medicinal qualities of both substances. The study appeared in the September 2010 issue of the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry."
Berries
Berries such as raspberries, mulberries and blueberries contain moderate quantities of resveratrol by comparison to grapes. Also, cooking, such as in baking a pie, decreases the levels of resveratrol by as much as 46 percent.
A study conducted at the East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China, evaluated resveratrol content of several varieties of mulberry and found high enough resveratrol levels in some to recommend them for potential development as a functional food -- one that provides health benefits beyond its vitamin and mineral content. The study was published in the October 2009 issue of the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry."
Soybeans
Soybeans genetically engineered to produce resveratrol contain a type of resveratrol molecule that is not the same bioactive molecule found in grapes and other plants, according to John T. Romeo, author of the book "Regulation of Phytochemicals by Molecular Techniques." According the the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 87 to 90 percent of soybeans planted in the United States are genetically engineered, making soy a potentially poor source of usable resveratrol.
References
- "Anti-Inflammatory Foods for Health: Hundreds of Ways to Incorporate Omega-3 ... "; Lisa M. Davis; 2008
- "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry"; Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma Lucidum as a Potent Elicitor in Production of T-resveratrol and T-piceatannol in Peanut Calluses; M. Yang; September 2010
- "The Sweet Smell of Success"; James L. Geiger; 2009
- "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry"; Phytochemical Profiles of Different Mulberry (Morus Sp.) Species from China; W. Song, et al.; October 2009
- United States Department of Agriculture: Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.
- "Regulation of Phytochemicals by Molecular Techniques"; John T. Romeo; 2001
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