Catechin Contents of Foods Commonly Consumed in The Netherlands. 1. Fruits, Vegetables, Staple Foods, and Processed Foods

Abstract

Catechins, compounds that belong to the flavonoid class, are potentially beneficial to human health. To enable epidemiological evaluation of these compounds, data on their contents in foods are required. HPLC with UV and fluorescence detection was used to determine the levels of (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, (+)-gallocatechin (GC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) in 24 types of fruits, 27 types of vegetables and legumes, some staple foods, and processed foods commonly consumed in The Netherlands. Most fruits, chocolate, and some legumes contained catechins. Levels varied to a large extent: from 4.5 mg/kg in kiwi fruit to 610 mg/kg in black chocolate. (+)-Catechin and (-)-epicatechin were the predominant catechins; GC, EGC, and ECg were detected in some foods, but none of the foods contained EGCg. The data reported here provide a base for the epidemiological evaluation of the effect of catechins on the risk for chronic diseases.

The influence of stereochemistry on the antioxidant properties of catechin epimers

“…States what constitutes about 83.5 % of the total flavonoid intake [1,2]. The main sources of catechins are green tea (800 mg/l), chocolate (600 mg/l), red wine (300 mg/l), and fruits: apricots or cherry (250 mg/kg fresh weight) [3].…”

“…The main sources of catechins are green tea (800 mg/l), chocolate (600 mg/l), red wine (300 mg/l), and fruits: apricots or cherry (250 mg/kg fresh weight) [3]. Catechins are also widespread in vegetables like broad bean and plant-derived products such as wine [1]. In food, they are present as mono-, oligo-, or polymers at the level ranging from 10 to 250 mg/kg in fruits, 610 mg/kg in dark chocolate to 850-2,200 mg/l in green tea infusion [1,4,5].…”

“…Catechins are also widespread in vegetables like broad bean and plant-derived products such as wine [1]. In food, they are present as mono-, oligo-, or polymers at the level ranging from 10 to 250 mg/kg in fruits, 610 mg/kg in dark chocolate to 850-2,200 mg/l in green tea infusion [1,4,5]. A relatively high level of catechins in the human diet is often correlated with reduced risk of common chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disease [6][7][8][9].…”

Polyphenolic content and composition and antioxidative activity of different cocoa liquors

“…Various elution phases (aqueous acetonitril and/or methanol with trifluoroacetic acid, phosphate buffer, or acetic acid) and corresponding chromatographic gradients were applied to achieve an appropriate resolution, as well as a better signal in the UV-PDA detector (Arts et al 2000;Natsume et al 2000;Wollgast et al 2001). Finally, the following chromatographic conditions were used (binary mobile phase with water:acetic acid (97.5:2.5, v/v) and acetonitrile, gradient elution) which allowed the separation of different polyphenols classes including phenolic acids, monomeric catechins, procynidins, and methylxantines.…”

Cocoa, Blood Pressure, and Vascular Function

“…The main constituents are flavanols, present as monomeric (−)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin, together with their dimers, oligomers, and polymers, the so-called proanthocyanidins, responsible for cocoa bitterness when complexing with salivary proteins (10). Although flavanols are likely to be responsible for cocoa's beneficial effects, they are lost during the conventional chocolate manufacturing process, so that the total flavanol content of commercial chocolate varies by more than 10-folds (11). Upon harvest, cocoa beans are usually fermented by environmental microbiota.…”