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Peanuts are classified into four market-types (Runners, Spanish, Virginia and Valencia). Studies on their phytochemical composition have focused mainly on market-types other than Valencia. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the phytochemical composition of cultivars of Valencia and Runner market-types. Extracts of 25 peanut cultivars of Runner and Valencia market-types were analysed using HPLC-DAD-MS analysis. Results showed major differences in UV profile of the market-types. A major peak with m/z 317 identified as isorhamnetin was present only in Valencia cultivars while its glycoside (isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside) having m/z 625 was identified in both market-types. Genistein, daidzein, rutin, quercetin and trans-resveratrol were also identified and quantified. Genistein and daidzein concentrations (0.03mg/100g) were similar in both market-types. trans-Resveratrol and rutin were significantly (p<0.05) higher in Runner cultivars while quercetin was 10-fold higher (0.60±0.04mg/100g) in Valencia cultivars making them a better source of this phytochemical., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Previous studies on the transport and absorption of resveratrol (3,5,4-O-trihydroxystilbene) were done using the pure compound. In this study, the absorption of resveratrol in digested peanut micellar from boiled and roasted peanuts was investigated using a human intestinal Caco-2 cell monolayer. The amount transported and rate of transport of both resveratrol glycosides and its hydrolytic product were quantified by a reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with mass spectrometric detection. Four peaks were identified in the digested peanut micellar of both boiled and roasted peanuts: two resveratrol glycosides, one resveratrol diglycoside, and possibly an acylated resveratrol glycoside. Resveratrol from roasted peanut micellar had a higher transport rate than those from the boiled peanut. This implies that resveratrol from roasted peanut is better absorbed than from boiled peanut. Also, the rate of transport and amount of resveratrol transported were higher for the hydrolytic product than the nonhydrolyzed glycosides. This has strong implications for in vivo absorption as the enzymatic activity of gut microflora could enhance the bioavailability of β-glycosides of dietary polyphenols.

Attempts to establish a relationship between peanut skin color (PSC) and total flavonoid (TF) content have produced inconclusive results. This study investigated the potential of PSC as a biomarker for polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity. Peanut cultivars were objectively evaluated for their skin color, total phenolic (TP), flavonoid (TF), proanthocyanidin (TPC) contents and antioxidant capacities (AC). Their relationship was determined by Pearson's correlation analyses. TP had stronger correlations with CIE a*, hue angle and AC (r(2) = 0.77, 0.82 and 0.80, respectively) compared to TF. Therefore, hue angle of peanut skin may be used as a biomarker for TP content rather than TF.

Plant derived phytochemicals have been the focus of recent research due to their health promoting effects. Previous studies to estimate the levels of these bioactive compounds made use of traditional solvent extraction procedures such as homogenization and soxhlet (reflux) methods. Recently, the ultrasonication technique has been shown to be an efficient non-thermal extraction method. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of frequency and duration (time) of sonication on the extraction efficiency of selected phytochemicals from peanuts and to determine optimal conditions (sample-to-solvent ratio, frequency, and time) for their extraction. The results obtained showed that sample-to-solvent ratio, frequency, and duration of sonication had significant effect on the extraction efficiency of the phytochemicals from peanut. Sonication at 80 kHz facilitated the extraction of biochanin A and trans-resveratrol while 25 kHz was effective in the extraction of daidzein and genistein. Multi-frequency extractions were more efficient than single frequency.

Peanuts are consumed mostly as processed products. Although the effect of processing on isoflavone composition of legumes has been extensively studied, there has been no such study on peanuts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of processing (boiling, oil- and dry-roasting) on the phytochemical composition of peanuts. Boiling had a significant effect on the phytochemical composition of peanuts compared to oil- and dry-roasting. Boiled peanuts had the highest total flavonoid and polyphenol content. The biochanin A and genistein content of boiled peanut extracts were two- and fourfold higher, respectively. trans-Resveratrol was detected only in the boiled peanuts, with the commercial product having a significantly (p < or = 0.05) higher concentration. Ultraviolet and mass spectrometry chromatograms for the boiled peanut extracts show the presence of four additional peaks that were not observed in the raw peanut extracts.

Peanuts have been reported to contain bioactive phytochemicals, particularly isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and biochanin A) and trans-resveratrol. Currently, limited data are available regarding the levels of these bioactive compounds in peanuts with variations in reported levels. The purpose of this study was to compare four methods of extraction [stirring, sonication, Soxtec, and microwave-assisted sonication (MAS)] for runner peanuts. Quantification of the selected compounds was conducted by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The results showed that the MAS and Soxtec methods extracted significantly higher amounts of the phytochemicals. Also, the defatted peanuts gave significantly higher amounts of the phytochemicals compared to the nondefatted peanuts. The high levels of the isoflavones may be attributed to heat-induced conversion of conjugate glycosides to aglycons. The MAS and Soxtec methods may be used for total isoflavone content quantitation, while sonication or stirring may be the method of choice for quantitation of isoflavone composition (aglycons and glycoside conjugates) in peanuts.