Revised structure of trans-resveratrol: Implications for its proposed antioxidant mechanism

The crystal structure of trans-resveratrol has been redetermined by X-ray diffraction. The newly refined structure demonstrates that the previously reported, dynamically disordered hydrogen-bonding network is rather the superposition of two crystallographically independent molecules of trans-resveratrol. This latter arrangement possesses a well-defined hydrogen-bonding network in a unit cell of double the previously reported volume. While not meant as a criticism of the proposed antioxidant mechanism itself, the present studies clearly show that the X-ray diffraction data should no longer be used for its additional support.