Wine is probably the oldest and still most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. Nevertheless, it contains several biomolecules with beneficial health effects. Phenols are among them and, in this article, we identified and quantified by HPLC catechin, gallic acid, hydroxytyrosol, quercetin, trans-resveratrol, and syringic acid in Primitivo and Negroamaro red wines from Salento, in Southeast Italy. The concentrations of the analyzed antioxidant molecules were quite high in all varieties. Gallic acid and catechin were the most abundant, but significant concentrations of quercetin, hydroxytyrosol, syringic acid, and trans-resveratrol were also found. Multivariate statistical analysis was also employed to discriminate between Negroamaro and Primitivo wines, suggesting the variables influencing their separation.
Keywords: HPLC; antioxidants; hydroxytyrosol; phenols; quercetin; trans-resveratrol; wine.