Quantitative Analysis of Flavan-3-ols in Spanish Foodstuffs and Beverages

Abstract

An HPLC method, using detection after postcolumn derivatization with p-dimethylaminocynnamaldehyde (DMACA), was developed for the quantitative analysis of individual flavanols in food. This method was applied to flavanol determination in 56 different kinds of Spanish food products, including fruit, vegetables, legumes, beverages (cider, coffee, beer, tea, and wine), and chocolate. The determined compounds corresponded to the catechins and proanthocyanidin dimers and trimers usually present in food and, therefore, they were representative of the flavanols of low degree of polymerization consumed with the diet. The data generated could be used for calculation of the dietary intake of either individual or total flavanols, which would allow the further establishment of epidemiological correlations with the incidence of chronic diseases. Similar flavanol profiles were found in the different samples of a similar type of product, even though important variations could exist in the concentrations of total and individual flavanols among them. This was attributed to factors such as sample origin, stage of ripeness, post-harvesting conservation, and processing. Total flavanol contents varied from nondetectable in most of the vegetables to 184 mg/100 g found in a sample of broad bean. Substantial amounts were also found in some fruits, such as plum and apple, as well as in tea and red wine. Epicatechin was the most abundant flavanol, followed by catechin and procyanidin B2. In general, catechins were found in all the flavanol-containing products, but the presence of gallocatechins was only relevant in pomegranate, broad bean, lentil, grape, wine, beer, and tea, and most of the berries. Galloyled flavanols were only detected in strawberry, medlar, grape, and tea.

Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and in vitro Cytotoxicity Assessment of Fruit Wines

“…Epicatechin was the most abundant fl avan-3-ol monomer in raspberry, blackberry, cherry and apple wines, while catechin was predominant in the raspberry wine. The quantitative analysis of fl avan-3-ols in Spanish (41) and Dutch (42) food products showed the identical relation between catehin and epicatechin in the raw fruits specifi ed above. The sum of fl avan-3-ols determined in this work in fruit wines decreased in the order: raspberry, blackberry, apple, cherry and strawberry.…”

Medicinal Potentials and Toxicity Concerns of Bioactive Principles

“…Generally, tannins in certain fruits serve as a natural defense mechanism against microbial infections [134]. The mechanisms of anti-bacterial activity of tannins have been described [147]. Likewise, proanthocyanidin polymers from D. kaki fruit exhibit anti-fungal properties as well as protective effect against diabetic oxidative stress with hyperlipidemia and anti-cancer activities [142,148,149].…”

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“…Several studies demonstrated that the potential health benefits of fruits and vegetables could be partially attributed to their polyphenol contents, in particular, flavonoids [8,41]. Fruits and vegetables are considered an important source of dietary flavonoids in addition to a number of potentially bioactive components such as fiber, folate, antioxidant vitamins, and potassium [56,57].…”