Evaluation of level of cis- and trans- resveratrol and their glucosides in red wines produced in Lazio Region (Area)

Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) is a natural phenolic compound, which belongs to phytoalexins. It is an antioxidant that exists as both trans and cis isomers and in the glycoside forms (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene-3-beta-mono-D-glucoside), which are known as piceid or polydatin. Recently, it has been assumed that resveratrol could be one of the active substances contributing to the health benefits, namely it decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases through a reasonable consumption of red wine. Grapes, grape juice and especially red wine represent its main source in human diet. The health significance of resveratrol has spawned numerous methods for its measurement in foods. A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) miniaturized method for identification and quantification of cis-, trans-resveratrol and its glucosylated forms has been developed, validated and applied to the analysis of red wines from Latium areas. The HPLC miniaturized system consists, under isocratic conditions, of a C18 narrow-bore column (150 x 2.0 i.d. mm, 5 micronm particle size) with a diode array spectrophotometer (DAD) detector. It allows the determination of these compounds by direct injection, without any sample pre-treatment. The method is sensitive, selective, rapid and reliable