A proanthocyanidin from avocado seed

Abstract

A proanthocyanin has been isolated from avocado seed. The compound resembles those that have been isolated from other sources in its ready hydrolysis into catechin and the products resulting from a polyhydroxyflavan-3,4-diol, but differs from these in the manner in which the two C₁₅-units are joined. Other proanthocyanins have been assigned structures in which the two flavan-derived units are joined by ether linkages. The analytical and spectral data presented in this paper lead to the conclusion that the avocado proanthocyanin consists of two flavan-derived units joined by a carbon–carbon linkage.