Muscadines (Vitis rotundifolia)
"They were as wild and untamed as the land they covered...
on the sand and on the green soil, on the hills as on the plains,
as well as on every little shrub ...
also climbing towards the tops of tall cedars ...
in all the world the like abundance is not to be found."
Sir Walter Raleigh, 1584
Review of Rare Berries
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Some Facts About Muscadine Grapes
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pronounced "muska-dyne"
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although in the same genus Vitis with the other grape species, muscadines belong to a separate subgenus, Muscadinia
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bronze muscadines (locally called the "scuppernong") or purple-black fruit still grow wild throughout the southeastern United States
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range in the United States extends from New York south to Florida, and west to Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas
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under active research and development by the US Department of Agriculture, Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University and the NIH National Cancer Institute
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being developed as an alternative crop and as a new health food or niche wine
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muscadine berries range from bronze to dark purple to black in color when ripe
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have skin sufficiently thick and tough that eating the raw fruit often involves biting a small hole in the skin to suck out the pulp inside
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not only eaten fresh, but also are used in making juice, jam or jelly
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rich sources of polyphenols and other nutrients studied for their potential health benefits
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contain high concentrations of
resveratrol — a
polyphenol with reported beneficial health effects — wines produced from these grapes may contain more than 40 mg/liter of resveratrol
Muscadine Grapes in Recent Medical Research
(click for abstracts!)
muscadine grape skin extract targets distinct pathways to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth -- it may be an important source for further development of therapeutic agents against prostate cancer
treatment with polyphenols from muscadine wine reduced neuropathology and cognitive deterioration in mice by interfering with beta amyloid molecules responsible for the cascade of cellular pathology in an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease
Other Muscadine Facts
- new plantings yield fruit in 3-5 years
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commercial yields of 8-18 tons per acre
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grow best in fertile sandy loam and alluvial soils
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used for making commercial fine wines and port wines dating back to the 16th Century
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typical muscadine wine is sweet because vintners add sugar during the winemaking process
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muscadine skins and pulp are an excellent source of dietary fiber, essential minerals and carbohydrates
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term 'scuppernong' refers to a large bronze type of muscadine originally grown in North Carolina
Muscadine scuppernongs
