Kumler Research Group
Dr. Philip Kumler, Lee Servatius, Amanda Hochman-Miga, Kristopher Hite,
Kathleen Lindstrom, Dale Wilger and Timothy Grant
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For the 2004-2005 academic year the Kumler research group is focusing on various aspects of the chemistry of resveratrol (I).
Resveratrol is a polyphenolic antioxidant which occurs in a few fruits and vegetables in low concentration. The plant with the highest concentration of resveratrol is Polygonum cuspidatum, also known as Japanese knotweed, which is widely used in Asian herbal medicines. The major food source of resveratrol is grapes; other food sources include peanuts, blueberries and mulberries. It is suspected that resveratrol may be responsible for the so-called “French paradox”; the French people have a low incidence of heart disease in spite of a diet and lifestyle prone to cause cardiovascular problems. The resveratrol present in red wine (in significantly higher concentration in red wine than in white) is believed to be responsible. A myriad of other positive health benefits have also been ascribed to resveratrol based on many recent studies.
In Concord grapes it is known that resveratrol is present in relatively high concentration and tends to be concentrated primarily in the grape skins. Various aspects of resveratrol chemistry are currently being studied in our group. Kathy Lindstrom is developing procedures for the isolation of resveratrol from grape skins. Kris Hite and Ryan Landis are developing HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) procedures for the quantitative analysis of both resveratrol and its glucoside (piceid) in grapes and grape products. Amanda Hochman is developing GC (gas chromatography) methods for analysis of resveratrol and piceid. Tim Grant is primarily responsible for the care and maintenance of our tandem mass spectrometer and is developing procedures for the quantitation of resveratrol and piceid by mass spectrometry. Dale Wilger is exploring some of the photochemistry of resveratrol, including both photocyclization and photodimerization reactions. Lee Servatius continues to be an active volunteer assisting in many aspects of this work.