Resveratrol content in seeds of peanut germplasm quantified by HPLC

Abstract

trans-Resveratrol (trans-3,4′,5-trihydroxystilbene), a polyphenolic compound uniquely identified in plants, is believed to greatly contribute to human health. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds of 20 germplasm accessions were harvested from the same field and used for resveratrol analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. trans-Resveratrol content in air-dried peanut seeds was on average about 0.5 μg/g and a statistically significant variation (from 0.125 to 1.626 μg/g, at least a ten-fold difference) was detected among the accessions analysed. The average weight for 100 seeds was 52.84 g. A statistically significant variation in seed weight (from 22.30 to 87.94 g, at least a four-fold difference) was observed. There was no significant correlation between trans-resveratrol content and seed weight. The information about the levels of trans-resveratrol in peanut seeds will be useful for peanut cultivar development and peanut product processing. Breeders could use germplasm accessions containing a high amount of resveratrol to develop new nutritionally improved peanut cultivars and food processors could use these new cultivars to manufacture high resveratrol peanut products.