Determination of stilbenes in hop pellets from different cultivars

About 30% of the polyphenols in wort and beer derive from hop, but little is yet known about their nutritional impact. The recent discovery of trans-resveratrol and piceid isomers in hop opens new doors to understanding beer health benefits. In the present work, resveratrol was quantified by HPLC-APCI-MS/MS in pellets from 9 different cultivars. Concentrations ranging from 4 to 9 mg/kg transpiceid, from 2 to 6 mg/kg cis-piceid, and up to 1 mg/kg trans-resveratrol were detected. As previously shown for total polyphenols and flavonoids, the lower the alpha-acid content, the higher the total stilbene content.