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UGA food scientists have found a way to modify peanuts so they protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease at levels far higher than those in red wine. Peanut butter & jelly for lunch again? You bet!
Experts often tout the benefits of red wine as a source of resveratrol, an
antioxidant proven to protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease.
"American diets are high-fat, and the incidence of heart disease is high
in this country," said Anna Resurreccion, the UGA food scientist who led
the project at the Food Innovation and Commercialization Center in Griffin,
Ga.
"The French eat high-fat diets, too, yet heart disease levels are low
there," she said. "This is what's referred to as the French Paradox.
They attribute their health to the red wine they drink."
The peanuts Resurreccion modifies in her lab have up to 12.3 times more resveratrol
than red wine. "A study of 29 different wines showed an average of 0.6
micrograms per gram and, in exceptional cases, 5 micrograms per gram," she
said. "Our resveratrol-enhanced peanuts have almost 8 micrograms per gram."
Having increased levels of resveratrol available in peanuts, she said, opens
up avenues to many new products that can carry its "cancer chemopreventive
and anticardiovascular-disease compounds" in meals and snacks.
"Young children can't very well drink wine," she said. "But
most of them love peanut butter and peanut snack foods."
Peanuts with increased resveratrol will help Georgia peanut farmers and food
manufacturers, too.
"This technology will help increase the number of product lines made
using resveratrol-enhanced peanuts and will give the manufacturers a competitive
advantage," Resurreccion said. "We used a runner variety of peanuts,
so Georgia farmers will benefit as well."
The University of Georgia has a patent on the invention and is now partnering with Bell Plantations, Inc., of Georgia to
use resveratrol-enhanced peanuts to commercially manufacture peanut flour.
Both the enhanced peanuts and their flour by-product will be used to make
products like pasta, candy bars, snacks, cakes, breads, power shakes and other
health drinks, she said. Peanut butter with increased resveratrol is another
possible product.
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The
peanuts that food scientist Anna Resurreccion modifies in her lab have up to 12.3 times more resveratrol,
an antioxidant proven to protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease,
than red wine.
