Abstract
Procyanidin C1 is by far the main flavan-3-ol trimer in cocoa. Like other flavan-3-ols, however, it suffers a lot during heat treatments such as roasting. RP-HPLC-HRMS/MS(ESI(−))analysis applied to an aqueous model medium containing commercial procyanidin C1 proved that epimerization is the main reaction involved in its degradation (accounting for 62% of degradation products). In addition to depolymerization, cocoa procyanidin C1 also proved sensitive to oxidation, yielding once- and twice-oxidized dimers. No chemical oligomer involving the native trimer was found in either model medium or cocoa, while two C1 isomers were retrieved. C1 degradation products exhibited antioxidant activity (monitored by RP-HPLC-Online TEAC) close to that of C1 (when expressed in µM TE/mg·kg−1).
Highlights
Procyanidins, called condensed tannins, are a group of phytoallexins widely distributed within the plant kingdom and composed mainly of flavan-3-ol monomers and oligomers.These chemicals have several health benefits, linked notably to antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, and antidiabetic effects [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Procyanidin C1 ((−)-epicatechin-(C4-C8)-(−)-epicatechin-(C4-C8)-(−)-epicatechin) is the main flavan-3-ol trimer found in cocoa
The aim of the present work was to assess how procyanidin C1 degradation products might contribute to the antioxidant activity of a chocolate
Summary
Procyanidins, called condensed tannins, are a group of phytoallexins widely distributed within the plant kingdom and composed mainly of flavan-3-ol monomers and oligomers. These chemicals have several health benefits, linked notably to antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, and antidiabetic effects [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Procyanidin C1 ((−)-epicatechin-(C4-C8)-(−)-epicatechin-(C4-C8)-(−)-epicatechin) is the main flavan-3-ol trimer found in cocoa. It is found in cinnamon, tea, apple, litchi, grape, peach, and various red and blue berries [9].
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