Study of polyphenols in grape berries by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Several polyphenols have been tested in grape berries from Spain. The flavo noid content is important because of the pharmacological properties of thes e compounds, whereas resveratrol has been proved to be an antifungal, antii nflammatory and an anticarcinogenic compound. A reversed-phase HPLC method has been developed and applied to determine resveratrol, quercetine, querci trine and rutine content in several grape berries samples in a single analy sis. Covering the grapes with a preservative paper yields a healthier produ ct, but one which has a lower polyphenol content than unprotected grapes. ( C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.