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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Little Rock, Arkansas » Microbiome and Metabolism Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #146435
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF A DATABASE OF PROCYANIDIN PROFILE AND CONTENT IN FOODS

Author
item GU, LIWEI - ACNC
item KELM, MARK - MARS INCORPORATED
item HAMMERSTONE, JOHN - MARS INCORPORATED
item Holden, Joanne
item Haytowitz, David
item Beecher, Gary
item Prior, Ronald

Submitted to: International Food Data Base Conference Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2003
Publication Date: 6/30/2003
Citation: GU, L., KELM, M.A., HAMMERSTONE, J.F., HOLDEN, J.M., HAYTOWITZ, D.B., BEECHER, G.R., PRIOR, R.L. DEVELOPMENT OF A DATABASE OF PROCYANIDIN PROFILE AND CONTENT IN FOODS. INTERNATIONAL FOOD DATA BASE CONFERENCE. 2003. Abstract p. B25.

Interpretive Summary: Procyanidins are mixtures of complex molecules that can range in size from a few monomeric subunits linked together to molecules with over 100 subunits linked together. Recent studies have suggested that procyanidins in food may have health promoting effects. The objectives of theses studies were to analyze the procyanidins in over 500 food samples as part of USDA's National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program from four different areas of the U.S. and in two different seasons. Monomers through decamers were quantified individually, and larger polymeric molecules were quantified using a mixture of purified polymers as an external standard. Procyanidins were detected and quantified from 39 different foods from a total of 92 kinds of foods which were analyzed. Procyanidins are not present in all foods. Foods containing procyanidins included 18 kinds of fruits, 7 nuts, 8 cereals/beans, 2 beverages/snacks, 2 spices, and 2 vegetables. The average total procyanidin contents varied from 0.087 to 81.1 mg/g of dry matter in all foods. The typical procyanidin content in freeze-dried blueberries were 11.2 ± 3.1 mg/g or 1.73 ± 0.65 mg/g (n=8) in the fresh fruit. Polymers were found to be the predominant components (>50% of the total procyanidins) in 11 kinds of foods. The typical proportion of the polymers in grape was 72.1%. There were also 15 kinds of foods, such as raspberry, which contained only smaller compounds with less than 10 subunits. These data will provide for the first time the opportunity to: 1) evaluate the daily intake of procyanidins and to correlate with the incidence and outcome of some chronic diseases in epidemiological studies; and 2) to begin to understand the significance of components in procyanidins, particularly polymers to health outcomes.

Technical Abstract: Procyanidins are mixtures of oligomers and polymers composed of catechin or epicatechin subunits. These monomeric units are typically linked through C4(right arrow)C8 or C4(right arrow)C6 bonds (B-type). They can also be doubly linked with an additional O7(right arrow)C2 bond (A-type). The size or molecular weight of procyanidins can be described by the degree of polymerization (DP). Recent studies have suggested that procyanidins in food may have health promoting effects. Objective: Analyze the procyanidins in over 500 food samples as part of USDA's National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program from four different areas of the U.S. and in two different seasons. Methods and Materials: Normal phase HPLC-MS/MS with fluorescent detection method was applied. Monomers through decamers were quantified individually. All the polymers (DP>10) were quantified using a mixture of purified polymers as an external standard. Results: Procyanidins were detected and quantified from 39 different foods from a total of 92 kinds of foods which were analyzed. Foods containing procyanidins included 18 kinds of fruits, 7 nuts, 8 cereals/beans, 2 beverages/snacks (beer and wine), 2 spices, and 2 vegetables. Procyanidins in B-type linkages were detected as the principal component in all these foods. The (epi)afzelechin and (epi)gallocatehin were also detected as minor monomeric units in some foods, typically raspberry and grape. The average total procyanidin contents varied from 0.087 to 81.1 mg/g of dry matter in all foods. The typical procyanidin content in freeze-dried blueberries were 11.2 ± 3.1 mg/g or 1.73 ± 0.65 mg/g (n=8) in the fresh fruit. Polymers were found to be the predominant components (>50% of the total procyanidins) in 11 kinds of foods. The typical proportion of the polymers in grape was 72.1%. There were also 15 kinds of foods, such as raspberry, which contained only oligomers. Significance: These data will provide for the first time the opportunity to: (1) evaluate the daily intake of procyanidins and to correlate with the incidence and outcome of some chronic diseases in epidemiological studies, and 2) to begin to understand the significance of components in procyanidins, particularly polymers to health outcomes.