Resveratrol has been associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and reduced cancer risk. This phytoalexin has been reported in a number of plant species, including grapes, and may be one of the compounds responsible for the health benefits of red wine. Analytical methods for measuring resveratrol in wine and peanuts were adapted to isolate, identify, and quantify resveratrol in several cultivars of peanuts. Aqueous ethanol (80% v/v) extracts from peanuts without seed coats were purified over alumina/silica gel columns and analyzed by reversed phase HPLC using a C-18 column. Peanuts from each market type, Virginia, runner, and Spanish, produced in four different locations contained from 0.03 to 0.14 microg of resveratrol/g. Seed coats from runner and Virginia types contained approximately 0.65 microg/g of seed coat, which is equivalent to <0.04 microg/seed. Quantitative analysis of 15 cultivars representing 3 peanut market types, which had been cold stored for up to 3 years, indicated a range of 0.02-1.79 microg/g of peanut compared to 0.6-8.0 microg/mL in red wines.

‘Bailey’ (Reg. No. CV‐111, PI 659502) is a large‐seeded virginia‐type peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. subsp. hypogaea var. hypogaea) with partial resistance to five diseases that occur commonly in the Virginia‐Carolina production area: early leaf spot (caused by Cercospora arachidicola Hori), late leaf spot [caused by Cercosporidium personatum (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Deighton], Cylindrocladium black rot [caused by Cylindrocladium parasiticum Crous, M.J. Wingf. & Alfenas], Sclerotinia blight (caused by Sclerotinia minor Jagger), and tomato spotted wilt (caused by Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus). It also has partial resistance to southern stem rot (caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.). Bailey was developed as part of a program of selection for multiple‐disease resistance funded by growers, seedsmen, shellers, and processors. Bailey was tested under the experimental designation N03081T and was released by the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS) in 2008. Bailey was tested by the NCARS, the Virginia Agricultural Experimental Station, and five other state agricultural experiment stations and the USDA‐ARS units participating in the Uniform Peanut Performance Tests. Bailey has an alternate branching pattern, an intermediate runner growth habit, medium green foliage, and high contents of fancy pods and medium virginia‐type seeds. It has approximately 34% jumbo and 46% fancy pods, seeds with tan testas and an average weight of 823 mg seed−1, and an extra large kernel content of approximately 42%. Bailey is named in honor of the late Dr. Jack E. Bailey, formerly the peanut breeding project's collaborating plant pathologist.

Major markets for the large-seeded virginia-type peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) include roasted inshell and salted inshell products with short shelf life being a common consumer complaint. Unlike many other peanut products, it is not economically possible to package these inshell peanuts in nitrogen flushed, oxygen barrier bags. A number of studies have shown that roasted runner-type peanuts with high contents of oleic fatty acid have improved oxidative stability and longer shelf life. A large-seeded, virginia-type peanut cultivar (AgraTech VC-2) with the high oleic trait has been released but no information is available on its shelf life stability. Therefore, this high oleic cultivar and the normal oleic cultivar VA 98R from the 2000 and 2001 crop were used for shelf life evaluations. Peanuts were sized into the fancy inshell grade for roasted inshell and salted inshell products. Peroxide value (PV) results for the roasted inshell peanuts indicated that normal oleic fatty acid (50% range) peanuts reached a PV of 20 meq/kg by the end of 4 wk of storage. On the other hand, the high oleic fatty acid (80% range) peanuts did not reach a value of 20 meq/kg until approximately 32 wk. When salted inshell the normal oleic peanuts exceed a PV of 20 meq/kg before the 2nd wk, whereas the high oleic peanuts still had not reached a PV of 20 meq/kg after 40 wk of storage. These results show a significant advantage of high oleic peanuts for extending shelf life of large-seeded, virginia-type peanuts for either roasted or salted inshell processing.

The high-oleic-acid trait improves the oxidative stability of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) and their products. The explicit effect of the trait on sensory quality, particularly on off-flavors associated with oil rancidity, has not been well documented. To assess the effect of the trait on off-flavors, data from two independent databases were analyzed to compare sensory quality and composition in normal- versus high-oleic peanut genotypes. In data collected using a sensory panel in the Department of Food Science at North Carolina State University, there were small differences between near-isogenic lines for intensities of the roasted peanut, astringent, over-roast, and nutty attributes, with the high-oleic lines exhibiting slightly greater intensities of those attributes. There were no differences for off-flavors such as fruity, painty, stale, moldy, or petroleum. In data collected from the multistate Uniform Peanut Performance Test and evaluated by a panel in the USDA-ARS Market Quality and Handling Research Unit (MQHRU) at Raleigh, NC, there were differences in chemical composition associated with the high-oleic trait, including differences in oil content, tocopherols, and carbohydrates in addition to the expected differences in fatty acid contents. There were small decreases in the intensities of the sensory attributes cardboard and painty associated with the high-oleic trait in the MQHRU data when all high-oleic lines were compared with all normal-oleic lines. Comparison of the near-isogenic pair NC 7 and N00090ol showed differences in oil and glucose contents, but not in sensory attributes. The high-oleic trait does not appear to have a major impact on sensory quality on average, although there were individual instances in which the trait was associated with shifts in sensory attribute intensities that may be perceptible to consumers.