Color development of proanthocyanidins in vanillin-hydrochloric acid reaction

The influence of proanthocyanidin (PA) structures contained in bark on color development in the vanillin-hydrochloric acid (V-HCl) method used widely as a quantitative method for measuring PA were examined. The maximal absorption wavelength was different in terms of the bark from which the PA was obtained. Phenyl nucleus (resorcinol, phloroglucinol) constituting the A-ring of PA reacts with vanillin to produce the color. The maximal absorption wavelengths of the solutions from synthesized procyanidin and profisetinidin were 500 and 540 nm, respectively, indicating that the color tone differs in the V-HCl method based on the hydroxylation patterns of the A-ring. The colored solution of (+)-catechin with vanillin was dialyzed, and the resulting product (C-VC) was analyzed by gel permeation chromatography and H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance. It was found that C-VC was a polymer complex consisting of 9 mol (+)-catechin moieties and 10 mol vanillin moieties. It was presumed that the cationized vanillin molecules that do not combine with (+)-catechin play an important role on color development in the presence of C-VC.