What Is Resveratrol? A Plain-English Guide To This Plant Compound

Resveratrol in a nutshell

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring plant compound. Plants make it for their own reasons, and it turns up in a number of familiar fruits, seeds and other plant foods. It belongs to a large family of plant chemicals called polyphenols, which are found throughout colorful fruits, vegetables, tea, cocoa and many herbs.

It is not a vitamin and not a mineral. Those two groups are defined as nutrients with established everyday reference amounts. Resveratrol sits in a different category, often described as a plant-derived compound or a botanical ingredient. That difference in category is useful to know when you read a label, because it shapes where the ingredient appears on the panel.

The chemistry, kept simple

In chemical terms, resveratrol is a stilbene: a small molecule built from two ring-shaped parts joined by a short link. You do not need to remember any of that, but the word stilbene is the one you will bump into in reference books.

The molecule exists in two shapes, called trans and cis. The trans form is the one most often discussed and the one most often named on supplement labels. The two forms have the same atoms arranged slightly differently, much like a left and a right glove. Light and heat can shift one form toward the other, which is one reason makers pay attention to storage.

Resveratrol is also fairly delicate. Exposure to strong light, air and warmth can change it, and ingredient makers usually protect it by keeping it in sealed, opaque packaging. That is one reason supplement bottles are often dark or opaque.

Where resveratrol occurs in foods

Resveratrol is found in only a modest number of everyday foods, and typically in small quantities. The best-known source is the outer covering of red and purple grapes, which is why it is often mentioned alongside red grape juice and red wine. Other plant foods also contain it.

Foods commonly listed as containing resveratrol include:

• Red and purple grapes and their juices
• Peanuts and peanut butter
• Blueberries, cranberries and some other berries
• Dark cocoa and dark chocolate
• Mulberries and certain other fruits

Why amounts in foods vary

Because plants make resveratrol in response to their surroundings, the quantity in any given grape or peanut can differ a lot. Variety, growing region, ripeness, season and the way a food is stored or processed all play a part. Even two bunches of the same grape variety can differ.

This is why reference tables give ranges rather than a single number, and why food sources are better thought of as occurrence than as a measured amount. A colorful plate is a pleasant way to enjoy a wide mix of plant compounds, resveratrol among them, without any need to count.

It is worth remembering how small the quantities in foods are. A handful of peanuts or a serving of berries contains only a trace of the compound, so food tables list it in micrograms or small milligram figures. The point of listing resveratrol among food compounds is to show where it occurs, not to rank foods.

Source plants used for ingredients

Ingredient makers need a plentiful source, so resveratrol used in supplements is typically taken from specific plants rather than from table grapes. One widely used source is a perennial plant known as Japanese knotweed. Grape-derived extracts and a few others are also used. Some resveratrol is made by fermentation, where microbes produce the compound in controlled settings.

Whatever the route, a purified resveratrol ingredient is usually a powder that is standardized, meaning the maker states how much of the ingredient is the compound itself. This standardization is why the same name can appear on labels from different makers.

How resveratrol appears on labels

On a Supplement Facts panel you may find resveratrol written plainly, or as trans-resveratrol, sometimes followed by the plant source in parentheses. Because it has no standard daily reference value, the percent column usually shows a symbol or the words daily value not established rather than a number. That is normal for plant compounds and does not mean anything has been left off.

Amounts are normally given in milligrams. If a product uses an extract, the panel may state both the extract amount and the share that is the active compound, so read the line closely.

When a label names a plant extract, look for two details: the plant name in parentheses and the standardization statement, such as the share of resveratrol the extract contains. Together they tell you what kind of ingredient is in the product.

Resveratrol and the LumiVelle label

LumiVelle, a daily gummy dietary supplement with 30 gummies per bottle, names resveratrol among its ingredients, alongside Korean gelatin, PDRN, vitamin C and a range of vitamins and minerals. The suggested use is one gummy daily, preferably with a meal, or as the label directs.

For the amount in each serving, the Supplement Facts panel on the bottle is the place to look. It is the official statement of what is in the product.