Procyanidin

Chemical properties

Oligomeric procyanidin is easily soluble in polar solvents such as water, alcohol, ketone, glacial acetic acid and ethyl acetate, but insoluble in weak polar solvents such as petroleum ether, chloroform and benzene. Polymeric procyanidin is insoluble in hot water but soluble in alcohol or sulfite solution.

Uses

Procyanidin is a new type of high-efficiency antioxidant and the most powerful free radical scavenger discovered so far. It has very strong in vivo activity and is used to improve blood circulation, treat diabetic retinopathy, reduce edema and inhibit varicose veins, etc. 

Pharmacology

Procyanidin can be rapidly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, reaching a peak value in 45min, with a half-life of 5h, 14% is excreted in bile within 11h, and 70% is excreted in the form of CO2, urine and feces after 24h, and is non-specifically bound in blood, liver and kidney. It binds specifically to the skin, blood vessel wall, and gastrointestinal mucosa, and is characterized by elevated levels of glucaminoglycans. Its main target organ is connective tissue, and its metabolism has an important entero-hepatic circulation.

Chemical Synthesis

At present, the commonly used process to synthesis Procyanidin is to degreasing first, including squeezing method, solvent method, and supercritical CO2 extraction method. Among them, supercritical CO2 extraction method is the best, not only has high oil extraction rate, but also has the least destructive effect on proanthocyanidins, and the quality is relatively high.

Definition

ChEBI: Procyanidin is oligomeric compounds, formed from catechin and epicatechin molecules. They yield cyanidin when depolymerized under oxidative conditions.