 ou've heard that small doses of red wine
may be good for your health. Now, United States Department of Agriculture
scientists say that peanuts may contain the heart-healthy chemical compound
- resveratrol - important in red wine. The latest findings that edible peanuts
also contain resveratrol were presented at a national meeting of the American
Chemical Society.
 Research on red wine conducted by
other groups has associated a compound called resveratrol with what's now
known as the "French paradox" - that is, despite a high-fat, high-cholesterol
diet, the French population has a surprisingly low rate of heart disease.
Dr. Timothy Sanders and coworker Robert McMichael of USDA's Raleigh, N.C.,
Agricultural Research Center adapted analytical methods used for resveratrol
in wine to isolate and identify resveratrol in peanuts. Dr. Sanders' group
examined Spanish, runner and Virginia-type peanuts from different production
locations in the United States.
"Frequent consumption of peanuts
and/or other nuts result in reduced cardiovascular disease and lowered total
cholesterol," according to Sanders. "The findings suggest that,
in moderation, peanuts can be a heart-healthy food."
Earlier research on resveratrol
in the 1970s and 1980s indicated that the compound was only found in peanuts
that had been inoculated and incubated with microorganisms, making them
inedible. But the more recent work by Sanders' group has found that resveratrol
is present, even without any indication of fungal attack.
Reports suggest that the average
concentration of resveratrol in red wine is 5.7 micrograms/ml or 160 micrograms
per fluid ounce. Sanders' data indicate that peanut seeds contain an average
of 2.6 micrograms per gram (with a concentration range of 1.68 to 3.7),
which is equivalent to 73 micrograms per ounce. The typical serving size
of peanuts is considered to be one ounce, whereas an average glass of wine
is about five fluid ounces.
This work was funded by the Peanut
Institute.  | 
