POTENTIAL SWEETENING AGENTS OF PLANT-ORIGIN .29. STUDIES ON INDONESIAN MEDICINAL-PLANTS .5. SELLIGUEAIN-A, A NOVEL HIGHLY SWEET PROANTHOCYANIDIN FROM THE RHIZOMES OF SELLIGUEA-FEEI

Selligueain A, a novel sweet trimeric proanthocyanidin with a doubly linked A unit, has been isolated from the rhizomes of Selliguea feei collected in Indonesia. The structure of this substance was established as epiafzelechin-(4beta --> 8, 2beta --> O --> 7)-epiafzelechin-(4beta --> 8)-afzelechin [1], on the basis of a combination of spectral and chemical methods. The compound was not acutely toxic for mice and not mutagenic in a forward mutation assay utilizing Salmonella typhimurium strain TM677. Selligueain A [1] was rated by a taste panel as exhibiting about 35 times the sweetness intensity of a 2% w/v aqueous sucrose solution, and at a concentration of 0.5% w/v in H2O was perceived as pleasant-tasting rather than astringent.