Direct analysis of resveratrol in wine by micellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis

Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in grapes and other plants. It has been reported to have health benefits including anticarcinogenic activity and protection against coronary heart disease. Previous methods for its quantification in wines have relied on HPLC and GC. However, an alternative method utilizing capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been developed in our laboratory. The CE procedure resolves cis- and trans-resveratrol isomers, using a micellar mode of separation. The detection limit for resveratrol was 1.25 mu M using UV detection at 310 nm. This procedure was employed for the direct analysis of trans-resveratrol in wines. The direct analysis method used was advantageous because the analysis time was greatly reduced and sample preparation procedures that might result in resveratrol isomerization were avoided. The CE procedure was used to determine the level of trans-resveratrol in several California red wines, and the values obtained were in close agreement with those reported using other methods.