The condensed tannin concentrations and composition and the characterization of the phenolic constituents in the leaves of the forage legume sulla (Hedysarum coronarium), a biennial forage legume found in temperate agricultural regions, were studied. The colorimetric butanol-HCl assay was used for the quantitation of the seasonal condensed tannin concentrations in the leaves of sulla. Fractionation of extracts on Sephadex LH-20 using step elution with aqueous methanol, followed with aqueous acetone or gradient elution with water, aqueous methanol, and aqueous acetone, gave condensed tannin and flavonoid fractions. The chemical characteristics of the purified condensed tannin fractions were studied by acid-catalyzed degradation with benzyl mercaptan and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Thiolysis revealed that epigallocatechin was the major extender unit (15-75%) while gallocatechin was the major terminal unit (50-66%), thus indicating the extractable sulla condensed tannin fraction as the prodelphinidin type. Condensed tannin oligomers to polymers obtained from Sephadex LH-20 gradient fractions ranged between 2.9 and 46 mDP. The homo- and heterogeneous oligomer ions in condensed tannin gradient fractions detected by ESI-MS ranged from 2 to 10 DP and are consistent with the values obtained by thiolysis (2.9-6.9 DP). Lower molecular weight phenolics, including flavonoids and phenolic acids, were characterized by liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (LC-APCI/MS) and ESI/MS/MS on a linear ion trap. The flavonoids extracted with aqueous acetone and methanol from sulla leaves and identified included kaempferol, rutin, quercetin-7-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-3-O-glucosylrhamnoside, quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucoside-dirhamnoside, genistein-7-O-β-D-glucosyl-6″-O-malonate, formononetin-7-O-β-D-glucoside-6″-O-malonate, and afrormosin and the phenolic acid chlorogenic acid.

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