Resveratrol is the compound in French wines said to lower cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart disease. In the Southeast, muscadines are grown to make juice. But the researchers are now using muscadine waste from juice processing to make products like muffins, jams and granola cereal.
Powdered puree contains more dietary fiber than oat or rice bran.
The muscadine's newfound health benefits could boost the crop in the Southeast. And Magee and ARS colleagues have developed growing methods that reduce the time needed to produce a commercial crop from 5 years to 3 years. A story about the research appears in the November issue of ARS' Agricultural Research magazine.