Laricitrin

Abstract: The main flavonols found in seven widespread Vitis vinifera red grape cultivars include the 3-glucosides and 3-glucuronides of myricetin and quercetin and the 3-glucosides of kaempferol and isorham...

Abstract: Grape is qualitatively and quantitatively very rich in polyphenols. In particular, anthocyanins, flavonols and stilbene derivatives play very important roles in plant metabolism, thanks to their peculiar characteristics. Anthocyanins are responsible for the color of red grapes and wines and confer organoleptic characteristics on the wine. They are used for chemotaxonomic studies and to evaluate the polyphenolic ripening stage of grape. They are natural colorants, have antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic activity, exert protective effects on the human cardiovascular system, and are used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Stilbenes are vine phytoalexins present in grape berries and associated with the beneficial effects of drinking wine. The principal stilbene, resveratrol, is characterized by anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective activity. Resveratrol dimers and oligomers also occur in grape, and are synthetized by the vine as active defenses against exogenous attack, or produced by extracellular enzymes released from pathogens in an attempt to eliminate undesirable toxic compounds. Flavonols are a ubiquitous class of flavonoids with photo-protection and copigmentation (together with anthocyanins) functions. The lack of expression of the enzyme flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase in white grapes restricts the presence of these compounds to quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin derivatives, whereas red grapes usually also contain myricetin, laricitrin and syringetin derivatives. In the last ten years, the technological development of analytical instrumentation, particularly mass spectrometry, has led to great improvements and further knowledge of the chemistry of these compounds. In this review, the biosynthesis and biological role of these grape polyphenols are briefly introduced, together with the latest knowledge of their chemistry.

Abstract: The phenolic profile of four blueberry varieties (Vaccinium corymbosum L., cv. Toro, Legacy, Duke and Bluecrop) and two varieties (Rosenthal and Rovada) of red currants (Ribes rubrum L.) and black currants (Ribes nigrum L.) cultivated in Macedonia have been analyzed using HPLC coupled to diode-array detection and tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. A complex profile of anthocyanins, flavonols, flavan-3-ols and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives has been assayed in acetone-acetic acid (99:1, v/v) extracts. Anthocyanins comprised the highest content of total phenolic compounds in currants (>85%) and lower and variety dependent in blueberries (35-74%). Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives comprised 23-56% of total phenolics in blueberries and 1-6% in currants. Chlorogenic acid was the major hydroxycinnamic acid in blueberries, only in the Legacy variety, two malonyl-caffeoylquinic acid isomers were major components. Flavonols, mainly quercetin and myricetin glycosides, were a minor group, but glucosides of laricitrin and syringetin were also detected in the blueberry varieties counting for 10-34% of total flavonols. From flavan-3-ols, catechin was detected in most samples; the dimer B2 was specific for blueberries whereas epigallocatechin was detected in currants.

Abstract: Petit Verdot grape skins by solid-phase extraction using a combination of reverse-phase and ion-exchanging materials. This procedure allowed us to separate a fraction of anthocyanin-free flavonol 3-O-glycosides that was further split into neutral and acidic subfractions, thus facilitating flavonol identification. By means of semipreparative reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, we isolated several of these flavonol 3-O-glycosides for structural elucidation. The identification of different flavonol 3-O-glycosides was based on liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry and NMR data when available. The results suggest that red grape flavonol 3-O-glycosides comprise three different complete series, according to the nature of the sugar moiety linked to the C-3 position. The 3-O-glucosides were the main derivative of the six possible flavonol aglycones (kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, myricetin, laricitrin, and syringetin), whereas the 3-O-galactoside derivatives were found as minor compounds for all of the flavonol aglycones. The 3-O-glucuronides are the third kind of red grape flavonol derivatives and normally account as minor compounds for all of the flavonol aglycones, with the exception of quercetin 3-O-glucuronide, which was as abundant as quercetin 3-O-glucoside. In addition, the presence of quercetin 3-O-(6"-rhamnosyl)-glucoside (rutin) was also detected as a trace compound in the skins of Petit Verdot grapes.