Changes in the phytochemical composition and profile of raw, boiled, and roasted peanuts

Peanuts are consumed mostly as processed products. Although the effect of processing on isoflavone composition of legumes has been extensively studied, there has been no such study on peanuts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of processing (boiling, oil- and dry-roasting) on the phytochemical composition of peanuts. Boiling had a significant effect on the phytochemical composition of peanuts compared to oil- and dry-roasting. Boiled peanuts had the highest total flavonoid and polyphenol content. The biochanin A and genistein content of boiled peanut extracts were two- and fourfold higher, respectively. trans-Resveratrol was detected only in the boiled peanuts, with the commercial product having a significantly (p < or = 0.05) higher concentration. Ultraviolet and mass spectrometry chromatograms for the boiled peanut extracts show the presence of four additional peaks that were not observed in the raw peanut extracts.