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Best Resveratrol Food #1. Red wine

Red wine is common, though it is not ideal since it has an alcohol content that can cause permanent DNA mutations in the body. Moreover, red wine is a carcinogen. Alcohol consumption increases Risks to the esophagus, colon, and breasts as well as liver cancer. Nevertheless, red wine is recommended since it is not boiled or pasteurized. Therefore, the wine needs to have at least around 1 mg of resveratrol at best, if you’re drinking red wines, such as Merlot or Pinot Noire. Because red wine is the most common food source, several studies have been published on its content.

How much resveratrol is in wine?

Red wines have higher content and those made with thicker-skinned grapes will have most. Your average bottle of California Pinot Noir measures as 5.01 mg of resveratrol, followed by French Beaujolais at 3.55 mg, California Zinfandel at 1.38 mg, and Californian Cabernet Sauvignon at 0.99 mg. White wine have almost none, averaging 0.20 mg per bottle. Champagne has even less.

How much resveratrol is in a glass of wine?

Assuming the average serving size of 150 mL (5 ounces), one glass of wine equals 20% of a standard 750 mL bottle. That means a glass contains around 1 mg of resveratrol at best if you’re drinking a red like Pinot Noir or Merlot. White wines like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are often less than 0.1 mg.

Best Resveratrol Food # 2.  Red grape juice

Grapes don't have to be fermented to contain this antioxidant. It's found in the skin of red grapes along with other nutrients, such as minerals manganese, potassium, and vitamins K, C, and B1. Red grape-juices rapes have an average of 0.5 mg of resveratrol per liter. The significance of red grape juice is that it does not have alcohol content, though it has too much sugar.

How much resveratrol is in grape juice?

Juices made from red grapes will have the most, averaging 0.5 mg per liter. That equals around 0.1 mg of resveratrol per 8 oz serving. White grape juice tests have 90% lower content at 0.05 mg per liter or 0.01 mg per glass. Processing, pasteurization, and fruit concentration are why juice has less than wine.

The benefit of this source is that it’s alcohol free but the drawback is that it has lots of sugar.

Best Resveratrol Food # 3. – Fresh grapes

Fresh grapes are among the best resveratrol foods. They are alcohol-free and the fact they are unpasteurized, they are intact and have vitamin C, a heat-sensitive nutrient. The amount of resveratrol in the fresh grapes varies between 0.24-1.25 mg per cup, especially for the red grapes. Dark black grapes, for instance, Musca dines and concord, have more resveratrol, in as much as they fall within the range of 0.24-1.25. For the green, resveratrol is just 0.03 mg.

Best Resveratrol Food #4. – Peanuts

Technically, legumes have been growing underground, and rarely are these “nuts” thought of being superfoods, despite them having moderate ORAC value, which is higher than the macadamia and cashews and other seeds and nuts. The resveratrol brings about the antioxidant value part. When it comes to the amount of resveratrol in peanuts, they are similar to that of most red wines as the equal weights of the two are compared. Raw runner peanuts as well as their skin are intact and have 1.12 mg of resveratrol for every 100g being served. Raw Virginia peanuts have lower resveratrol, which is 0.01 mg for every 100g.

Best Resveratrol Food #5. – Peanut butter

Peanut butter is great for dressing up apples and celery, but it also contains some resveratrol (up to .13 mg per cup). Peanut butter is a great source of niacin and manganese.

Peanut is made from roasted nuts, and this is what makes peanut butter to be an excellent food source. Cheap and low-end brands, such as Jif and Skippy can be blended with oils. So, the amount of resveratrol will be 0.04 mg for every 100g. A natural pure peanut butter that does not have added oil is believed to have the most resveratrol, 0.07 mg for every 100g.

How much resveratrol is in peanuts?

How much there is in peanuts is comparable to most red wines, when you compare equal weights of each. Raw runner peanuts with their skin intact have tested out at 1.12 mg of resveratrol per 100 g (3.5 oz) serving. Raw Virginia peanuts have tested much lower, as little as 0.01 mg for the same weight.

Best Resveratrol Food #6. – Pistachios

This is not a trend. Walnuts, almonds with other nuts are not the best resveratrol foods. Unlike peanuts, pistachios have more resveratrol. Moreover, quercetin foods cannot activate SIRT1. Since they contain resveratrol, it is a good reason to include them in the health benefits list. Several nuts are related to the anti-aging.

Best Resveratrol Food #7. – Cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is high in the antioxidants. This is a good reason why you should eat it. In cocoa beans, the resveratrol is somehow high. It is also the most effective food source because it is raw. Also, it is referred to as cacao, in which trans-resveratrol is 0.185 mg per 100g. Based on an equal weight that is approximately half as much as the average of the California red wine. In addition, it is significantly more, unlike roasted peanuts. Because cocoa powder has little fat, the 100g is good for your body.

Best Resveratrol Food #8 – Dark Chocolate

In dark chocolate, resveratrol blends nicely with other antioxidants and also minerals, such as iron, copper, and manganese. Who doesn't like chocolate?

Unlike raw cocoa powder, dark chocolate has a lot less resveratrol. Also, it has more calories since the butter is intact. On average, it has 0.035 mg for every 100g being served. Coincidentally, this happens to be the same weight as that of the average chocolate bar from brands, such as Endangered Species, Lindt, Ghirardelli, and Green & Black Organic. Each of them ranges between 550-600 calories for each bar.

Best Resveratrol Food #9. – Milk chocolate

With milk chocolate, it becomes easier to determine the direction of the trend. For every 100g of milk chocolate, resveratrol is 0.01 mg and this is very low. Sugar, milk, as well as other reasons can discourage you from eating the milky versions of chocolates. This can also answer the question: can resveratrol help diabetes as most people have concerns while eating chocolates?

Best Resveratrol Food #10. – Strawberries

Strawberries are known for having more resveratrol than different types of grapes. For every 100g of raw strawberries, resveratrol is 0.35 mg. This can be compared to the 0.02 mg for white or green grapes and 0.15 mg for fresh black grapes. Nevertheless, typically, red grapes tend to have more resveratrol than strawberries.

Resveratrol possess many biological properties, but the best described resveratrol property is their capacity to act as a potent antioxidant. Resveratrol antioxidant activity depends upon the arrangement of functional groups on nuclear structure. Therefore, configuration, substitution, and total hydroxyl groups number substantially influence several mechanisms of antioxidant activity, such as radical scavenging and metal ion chelation abilities. Previous studies showed that hydroxyl group in 4′ position is not the sole determinant for antioxidant activity, but also the 3- and 5-OH groups. The study of antioxidant effect against hydroxyl (•OH) and hydroperoxyl (•OOH) radicals in aqueous simulated media using density functional quantum chemistry and computational kinetics methods revealed that trans-resveratrol may act as an efficient •OOH, and also presumably •OOR, radical scavenger. Resveratrol can also be used in minimizing or preventing lipid oxidation in pharmaceutical products, delaying toxic oxidation products formation, and maintaining both nutritional quality and prolonging pharmaceuticals shelf-life. In addition, resveratrol’s antioxidant properties have been successfully employed to protect cells against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress, where the pre-treatment with resveratrol promoted cell survival and protection against UV-irradiation-induced cell death. Resveratrol cellular defense could be achieved, at least in part, by its ability to act as a direct antioxidant and an indirect cellular antioxidant system inducer through modulation of several cellular antioxidant pathways, thereby balancing cellular redox status.

As already highlighted, resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that beneficial effect is hampered by its low bioavailability. Many attempts have been made to generate resveratrol derivatives by esterification process to improve their lipophilicity and application in lipid-based foods and biological environments. About 12 different esterified acyl chlorides have been synthesized including butyryl chloride, caproyl chloride, capryloyl chloride, capryl chloride, docosahexaenoyl chloride, eicosapentaenoyl chloride, lauroyl chloride, myristoyl chloride, oleoyl chloride, palmitoyl chloride, propionyl chloride, and stearoyl chloride. These derivatives were able to effectively inhibit copper ion-induced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and inhibited hydroxyl radical-induced DNA scission. These results clearly demonstrated that resveratrol derivatives might serve as potential antioxidants in foods and biological systems.

Anticancer Effects

Numerous studies have demonstrated that resveratrol possesses antitumor action and is a likely candidate for treatment and prevention several types of cancer. The anticancer properties of resveratrol have been confirmed by many in vitro and in vivo studies, which show that resveratrol is able to inhibit all carcinogenesis stages (e.g., initiation, promotion and progression). Many studies also provided evidence that resveratrol not only acts a chemopreventive agent, but also display chemotherapeutic properties linked to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, pro-apoptosis and anti-proliferative actions. Indeed, Resveratrol is believed to target intracellular signaling pathway components such as regulators of cell survival and apoptosis, pro-inflammatory mediators, and tumor angiogenic and metastatic switches by modulating a distinct set of transcription factors, upstream kinases, and their regulators. For instance, resveratrol have demonstrated apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects on human cervical carcinoma by inducing cell shrinkage in HeLa cells and apoptosis through the activation of caspase-3 and -9, upregulation of the expression of the pro-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2-associated X protein and downregulation of the expression of the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-extra-large in HeLa cells, and increased expression of the p53, a protein that is essential for cell survival and cell cycle progression. Cheng et al. demonstrate that resveratrol exert its anticancer action in in pancreatic cancer cells by suppressing the expression of NAF-1 through activation of Nrf2 signaling and inducing cellular reactive oxygen species accumulation that lead to apoptosis activation and prevent proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. Resveratrol is also an Histone deacetylase inhibitors that display its antiproliferative action by activating cell cycle arrest, inducing apoptosis and autophagy, angiogenesis inhibition, increasing reactive oxygen species generation causing oxidative stress, and mitotic cell death in cancer cells. The presence of 4′-OH together with the stereoisomer in trans-conformation (4′-hydroxystyryl moiety) is absolutely required for cell proliferation inhibition. Enzymatic assays demonstrated that DNA synthesis inhibition was induced by a direct interaction of resveratrol with DNA polymerases. Another in vitro work has shown that resveratrol enhances chemotherapy effectiveness through inactivating NF-κB protein (a transcription factor) formed by cancer cells and which controls certain genes expression. When this factor is present, cancer cells become chemotherapy-resistant, which then allows them to multiply. Resveratrol acts blocking this transcription factor, thereby enabling chemotherapeutics to act at their targeted sites. Resveratrol also attenuates the acetylation, phosphorylation, and nuclear translocation of NF-κB and inhibit iNOS expression in colon cancer cells (a key enzyme in colon tumorigenesis induced by pro-inflammatory and cytokines agents) and the IGF-1R/Akt/Wnt pathways, and activates p53 to hampered cell and tumor development. These effects fall into two classes: (i) Well-documented anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on cancer cell lines; and (ii) slightly more hypothetical chemopreventive effects that corresponds to resveratrol effects on cancer initiation.

Besides, the phytoestrogen, resveratrolt has received great attention as an upcoming preventive and therapeutic agent against breast cancer. Resveratrol has also shown promise as part of combination therapy, particularly in breast cancer. This compound has been shown to reverse drug resistance in a wide variety of in vitro cell systems by sensitizing tumor cells to drug-mediated effects in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. Resveratrol demonstrates ability to enhance the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine therapy. Cisplatin, a cancer chemotherapy agent against ovarian, bladder, testicular, and many other cancers, high risk of nephrotoxicity is reduce by Resveratrol. Globally, many in vitro and animal-based studies have demonstrated such preventive anticancer activity in colon, cervical, prostate, breast and lungs. Resveratrol-loaded nanoparticles have also demonstrated antioxidant potential in cancer cells. In addition, resveratrol beneficial effects are also present when adopted as a conventional treatment support to cancer, using chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on previous experimental and clinical trials, and on molecular characteristics of resveratrol, it could be used as: (i) A neoadjuvant chemotherapy agent before surgery to decrease tumor volume, owing to its ability to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and to induce apoptosis; (ii) an adjuvant chemotherapy drug to inhibit early cancer invasion and metastasis after surgery; (iii) a radiotherapy or chemotherapy sensitization agent in combination with chemotherapy agents, like capsaicin, docetaxel, doxorubicin, gemcitabine and temozolomide, since resveratrol may improve their anticancer effects; (iv) in cancer prevention for people under high risk of cancer; (v) a radioprotective agent to reduce treatment adverse effects, including radiotherapy-induced xerostomia and mucositis.

Cardioprotective Effects

Resveratrol protective effect was shown to improve cardiovascular function in diabetic rats by preserving the functional abilities of cardiac stem/progenitor cell compartments and mature cardiac cells, improved cardiac environment by reducing inflammatory state and decreased unfavorable ventricular remodeling of the diabetic heart, leading to a marked recovery of ventricular function. Resveratrol showed beneficial effect in heart failure by improving left ventricle function, decreased cardiac hypertrophy, contractile dysfunction and remodeling, interstitial fibrosis, and the level of plasma BNP. Some molecular mechanism of resveratrol action include inhibition of prohypertrophic signaling molecules, improvement of myocardial Ca2+ handling, phosphorylation of prosurvival (Akt-1, GSK-3β) and stress signaling (MKP-1) pathways and the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation (iNOS, COX-2 activity, and ROS formation). Yan et al. suggest that resveratrol act by preventing the expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, vascular endothelial growth factor, and suppressing phosphorylation of p38 in rats with diabetes-related myocardial infarctio. Besides, resveratrol administration in myocardial infarction-related diabetic rats significantly reduced blood glucose, body weight, plasma triglyceride levels, heart rate and aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) ratio, at same time that markedly increased total plasma insulin levels. In addition, resveratrol significantly reduced inflammation factors and malondialdehyde levels, which is a marker of oxidative stress. These results showed that resveratrol treatment can improve cardiovascular function by reducing myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, vasodilation and atherosclerosis. Contrarily, at physiological concentrations, resveratrol induces vasodilation, and consequently decreases hypertension and cardiovascular diseases risk. On the other hand, these results have also confirmed the uses of Polygonum cuspidatum as a resveratrol source to treat and to prevent hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis in traditional chinese medicine. Overall, the cardiovascular protective effect of resveratrol have been linked to multiple molecular targets and might be useful to the development of novel therapy for atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, ischemia/reperfusion, and heart failure.

Neuroprotective Effects

Resveratrol has several neuroprotective roles in various neurodegenerative impairments, such as Alzheimer′s, Huntington′s and Parkinson′s diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and alcohol-induced neurodegenerative disorders. It has been shown that resveratrol protective effects are not limited to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity but also improved mitochondrial functions and biogenesis through SIRT1(sirtuin 1)/AMPK/PGC1α pathway and vitagenes, which prevent the deleterious effects triggered by oxidative stress. Resveratrol decreases cholinergic neurotransmission, brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression, and oxidative stress, promotes β-amyloid peptides clearance and anti-amyloidogenic cleavage of APP, and reduces neuronal apoptosis. A meta-analysis showed that resveratrol significantly decreased Profile of Mood States (POMS) including vigor and fatigue but had no significant effect on memory and cognitive performance. Among the isolated resveratrol oligomers, vitisin A and heyneanol A have been reported for better dose-dependent inhibitory potential compared with standard inhibitor (galantamine) on both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity. Resveratrol is also able to improve rat motor abilities and to deactivate neuroinflammatory response following intracerebral hemorrhage. It may be used as a novel therapeutic agent to treat intracerebral hemorrhage.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Stilbenoids including resveratrol are non-nitrogenous polyphenols with acidic and amphiphilic characters with anti-inflammatory activity. Many of their targets are occurring on cyclooxygenase (COX), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and protein kinase B which is associated with its ability to inhibit COX-1 and COX-2 activity along with transcription factors activity inhibition, directly involved in COX activity regulation. Studies reported the ability of resveratrol to reduce the secretion and expression of inflammatory factors. The anti-inflammatory activity of resveratrol prevents acute pharyngitis-induced inflammation by inhibiting NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 serum levels, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and cyclooxygenase-2 activity levels, reactive oxygen species production and caspase-3/9 in rabbit models. Resveratrol inhibit the ear oedema of mice, WBC and pleurisy exudates, decrease the production of NO, and elevate the activity of SOD in serum in acetic acid-induced pleurisy test, reduce the content of MDA and elevate the T-SOD activity in serum; RSV could inhibit the expressions of TP, PGE2, NO, and MDA in carrageenan-induced synovitis test supporting its analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. Resveratrol inhibit the activation of microglia that lead to the release of various pro-inflammatory factors, the production of reactive oxygen species, and the activation of signal pathways leading to neuroinflammation in in vitro resveratrol modulates the inflammatory response at moderate to high concentrations within intestinal cells by down-regulating NF-κB activation and preventing mitochondrial dysfunction. This result was confirmed in vivo where resveratrol inhibits TNF-α production and NF-κB activation, decreases neutrophil infiltration in the intestinal mucosa, and represses intestinal tumorigenesis by regulating anti-inflammatory miRNA . Chen et al. demonstrated that resveratrol significantly suppressed the TLR-4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in lysophosphatidylcholine-induced damage and inflammation that might be useful for treatment of arteriosclerosis. Taken together, these studies suggest that resveratrol can prevent inflammation and oxidative stress, reduce the risk of carcinogenesis and developed as anti-inflammatory agent to improve the quality of life of patients.

Antimicrobial Activity

Resveratrol, in addition to the above described biological activities, has been studied for its ability to inhibit the growth of some pathogenic microorganisms, such as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Indeed, resveratrol has been shown to efficiently inhibit Candida albicans growth. Dimethoxy resveratrol derivatives exhibited antifungal activity against C. albicans with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 29–37 μg/mL, including against 11 other Candida species. However, the putative candidacidal activity of resveratrol is a matter of controversy. In fact, a study indicates that resveratrol is not effective against both C. albicans and non-C. albicans species. In another study, resveratrol antifungal activity against C. albicans could be reached at 400 μg/mL, thereby minimizing the antifungal role of resveratrol against C. albicans-caused infections.

Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are the major causes of bacterial gastroenteritis, while Arcobacter species are also known to be human and animal pathogens. Resveratrol-hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes improved resveratrol solubility and showed anti-Campylobacter and anti-Arcobacter effects. Furthermore, it inhibited biofilm formation and promoted biofilm dispersion even at sub-MIC concentrations and therefore could be developed as a new anti-biofilm agent to enhance foods shelf-life and safety.

Resveratrol showed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and time-kill assays showed that its effects were due to its bacteriostatic action. However, the mechanism underlying its antibacterial activity is not clearly understood. Resveratrol was also able to affect cells with changes in cell morphology and DNA contents. Hwang and Lim demonstrated that resveratrol led to DNA fragmentation in Escherichia coli, inducing an SOS response; nevertheless, resveratrol also induced cell elongation without an SOS response and thereby inhibits bacterial cell growth by suppressing FtsZ (crucial for Z-ring formation) expression and Z-ring formation in E. coli.

From another point of view, reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide, peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals are thought to contribute to the rapid bactericidal activity of diverse antimicrobial agents. E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus culture supplemented with resveratrol and treated with antimicrobials reduced ROS concentrations to sublethal levels, that are mutagenic, while the absence of resveratrol allows ROS to high enough to kill mutagenized cells. Antimicrobial lethality suppression and mutant recovery promotion abilities evidenced by resveratrol suggests that this antioxidant may contribute to the emergence of several antimicrobials-resistant species, especially if new derivatives and/or resveratrol formulations markedly increase its bioavailability.

Pseudorabies virus is one of the devastating pathogen of swine for which there is no treatment and that often result in economic losses. Resveratrol showed antiviral activity by inhibiting the Pseudorabies virus replication and effectively increase the growth performance and reduce the mortality of Pseudorabies virus-infected piglets.

Pterostilbene is a methoxylated derivative of resveratrol that showed antibacterial activity against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) superior of pterostilbene compared to resveratrol (8~16-fold). Pterostilbene anti-MRSA potency was related to bacterial membrane leakage, chaperone protein downregulation, and ribosomal protein upregulation and can be topically applied for treatment of skin MRSA infection bearing it less toxicity to mammalian cells. Resveratrol is a potentially useful agent on Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia and S. aureus-induced infectious diseases treatment. Also, resveratrol could alleviate rotavirus infection-induced diarrhea.

Other Biological Activities

Besides the cardioprotective, antioxidant, anticancer, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-dyslipidemia, and antidiabetic effects of resveratrol, it also exhibits antiproliferative and androgen-lowering effects on theca-interstitial cells of ovary. Moreover, it exerts a cytostatic but not cytotoxic effect in granulosa cells, while inhibiting aromatization and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. These actions may be of clinical relevance in conditions associated with theca-interstitial cell hyperplasia, androgen excess, and abnormal angiogenesis, such as polycystic ovary syndrome. In addition, resveratrol may increase ovarian follicular reserve and prolong ovarian life span, serving as a potential anti-aging agent.

Resveratrol is also able to decrease histopathological and biochemical damages and to exert protective effects on ischemia-reperfusion injury induced ovarian damages. Resveratrol has become to continue a hotspot in many fields, including respiratory system diseases. Indeed, research has demonstrated that resveratrol is helpful in relieving pulmonary function in general population and plays a protective role in respiratory system diseases. The main protective effects of resveratrol in respiratory system diseases, including its anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, antioxidant, antifibrotic, antihypertensive, and anticancer activities were also examined. In resveratrol-treated patients, serum levels of certain biochemical markers (i.e., C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, undercarboxylated osteocalcin, matrix metalloproteinase-3, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-6) were also significantly decreased. Therefore, the use of resveratrol as an adjuvant to conventional antirheumatic agents seems to be an optimum approach. Resveratrol can also be used as a protective and/or therapeutic agent, particularly in male infertility cases caused by testicular toxicity. On the other hand, resveratrol could be useful to protect health against several pathologies and ageing problems. However, the comparative evaluation of animal and human studies shows that resveratrol cannot protect against metabolic diseases and their relevant complications. Nonetheless, it is important to point out that the clinical findings are influenced by many factors, such as sample size and study objectives. Till now, small sample size and high dosage levels were used to conduct most of clinical trials to assess resveratrol significance in chronic diseases. Consequently, it is not easy to determine the exact safety range and therapeutic effectiveness of specific resveratrol doses on specific populations. In this sense, before prescribing resveratrol, patients should be properly advised for effective treatment with minimum side effects. Further evaluations are needed before declaring resveratrol as a beneficial compound for human health.