Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) extracts of medicinal plants were studied by PMR spectroscopy in order to assess the possibility of using this method for the identification and quantitative determination of polyphenolic compounds (flavonoids, tannins, etc.). Dependences of polyphenol-hydroxyl proton chemical shifts on the nature and position of aromatic substituents were studied.Keywords: polyphenols, NMR spectra, DMSO, chemical shifts and widths of hydroxyl resonances.Phenolic compounds (PC) are extremely common plant secondary metabolites. Currently, about 9,000 PC, greater than a half of which are flavonoids, are known [1]. PC represent up to 2 -3% of organic plant matter and up to 10% and more in certain instances. For example, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) leaves contain up to 20% hydrolyzed tannins.PC were detected in fungi, mosses, lichens, algae, ferns, and horsetails and also in higher plants (leaves, fruit, subterranean organs). They are biosynthesized in plants whereas animals require them in the finished form.Compounds of this class exhibit high biological activity. Plant PC play important roles in respiration, photosynthesis, glycolysis, and phosphorylation; regulate plant growth, development, and reproduction; fulfill structural, support, and protective functions; increase plant resistance to fungal diseases; and possess antibiotic and antiviral activity. The phenolic composition is specific to each plant and can be used as a marker of metabolomics components.Several preparations (alpizarin, hyporamin, flacoside, silymarin, etc.) based on PC were developed at VILAR.Both direct spectrophotometry and difference spectrophotometry using AlCl 3 as a shift reagent are used to analyze polyphenolic compounds [2, 3]. The ability of phenolic hydroxyls (PH) to form metal complexes is also used in structural studies [4].Herein, the capabilities of NMR spectroscopy to analyze plant PC are examined. NMR spectroscopy is widely used for structural studies and identification of biologically active compounds. It is also a pharmacopoeial method for composing regulations [5]. The capabilities of the NMR method for analyzing mixtures are complicated because of the presence in the spectra of a large number of resonances and the difficulties associated with assigning them to pure compounds. Two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy was used to develop metabolomics analytical methods that use the spectral region 0 -8.5 ppm, which contains resonances of various classes of compounds [6,7].The spectral region 8 -14 ppm of DMSO solutions of substances contains PH resonances and is especially interesting for PC component analysis. The resonances are 1H singlets. Their number is equal to the number of PH in the molecule. The ratio of integrated intensities of 1H PH units is equal to the ratio of amounts of compounds in the substance. This enables a single standard to be used in quantitative measurements and avoids the construction of a calibration curve for each substance component.PH resonances can usually be observed in proton-accep...