Detection and quantitation of resveratrol in tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

Resveratrol is a stilbene phytoalexin well-known for its presence in grape, wine, and peanut. As a result of its antioxidant and chemopreventative properties, it has gained much attention as a functional food ingredient. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the detection of resveratrol, its 3-glucopyranoside piceid, and the cis isomers of both compounds has been developed and used to quantitate the levels of these compounds in the skin of commercially available tomato fruit ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). The resveratrol concentration remains relatively stable during fruit maturation, reaching a maximum concentration in the skin of 18.4 +/- 1.6 mu g/g dry weight at 4 weeks postbreaker. No stilbenes were detected in the flesh of tomato fruit.