Publications by authors named "Helene Fulcrand"

Background And Aims: Condensed tannins, responsible for berry and wine astringency, may have been selected during grapevine domestication. This work examines the phylogenetic distribution of condensed tannins throughout the Vitaceae phylogenetic tree.

Methods: Green berries and mature leaves of representative true-to-type members of the Vitaceae were collected before 'véraison', freeze-dried and pulverized, and condensed tannins were measured following depolymerization by nucleophilic addition of 2-mercaptoethanol to the C4 of the flavan-3-ol units in an organic acidic medium.

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Yarrowia lipolytica strains PGC01003 and PGC202 engineered for succinic acid production were studied and compared to the wild type strain W29. For the first time, these two strains were characterized in a chemically defined medium. Strain growth and organic acid production were investigated in fed-batch mode with glycerol as carbon and energy source.

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The aim of this work was an investigation of the ability of gallic (GA) and ellagic (EA) acids, which are phenolic compounds encountered in various plants, to act as flame retardants (FRs) for epoxy resins. In order to improve their fireproofing properties, GA and EA were treated with boric acid (to obtain gallic acid derivatives (GAD) and ellagic acid derivatives (EAD)) to introduce borate ester moieties. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) highlighted the good charring ability of GA and EA, which was enhanced by boration.

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An improved analytical depolymerization method for characterizing condensed tannins was developed with menthofuran (3,6-dimethyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-benzofuran) as the nucleophilic trapping reagent. Herein, menthofuran was compared with routinely used nucleophiles, phloroglucinol and 2-mercaptoethanol. At 30 °C and in the presence of 0.

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This study aims to monitor composition changes in an anthocyanin-rich beverage during storage by the means of UV-VIS measurements associated with a multi-curve resolution procedure. Hibiscus sabdariffa extract was stored at 37 °C for 50 days and UV-VIS spectra were measured on the extract and the fractions of the extract every 5 days. MCR was carried out in two steps, first with the fraction and then the extract spectra.

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Effect of oxygen, polyphenols and metals was studied on degradation of delphinidin and cyanidin 3-O-sambubioside of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Experiments were conducted on aqueous extracts degassed or not, an isolated polyphenolic fraction and extract-like model media, allowing the impact of the different constituents to be decoupled. All solutions were stored for 2months at 37°C.

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Condensed tannins (also called proanthocyanidins) present in strategic tissues of fruits (outer pericarp and vascular bundles) were known as short polymers of flavan-3-ols. A pretreatment of the plant material (fruits from the grapevine, persimmon) with buffered ascorbic acid and Triton X-100 followed by acetone extraction provided native white fully depolymerizable tannins. Tannins are usually extracted with aqueous solvents and further purified, although artifactual oxidations occur, altering their physicochemical characteristics.

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Degradation parameters of two main anthocyanins from roselle extract (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) stored at different temperatures (4-37°C) over 60days were determined. Anthocyanins and some of their degradation products were monitored and quantified using HPLC-MS and DAD.

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Delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside are the main anthocyanins of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces, traditionally used to make a bright red beverage by decoction in water. At natural pH, these anthocyanins are mainly in their flavylium form (red) in equilibrium with the quinonoid base (purple) and the hemiketal (colorless). For the first time, their acidity and hydration equilibrium constants were obtained from a pH-jump method followed by UV-vis spectroscopy as a function of temperature from 4 to 37 °C.

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In the context of the potential health benefits of food polyphenols, the bioavailability of tannins (i.e. proanthocyanidins) is a major issue, which is strongly influenced by the polydispersity and the degree of polymerisation of tannins.

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Encapsulation of polyphenols can be used for improving their stability and targeting. We present here a spectrophotometric method to probe the micellar solubilisation and inter-micellar exchange of polyphenols using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) free radical as a visible probe. Our method relies on the partitioning of DPPH· into micelles, on the reduction of DPPH· by polyphenols, and on the change in absorbance of DPPH· when reduced/oxidised.

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Background And Aims: Condensed tannins (also called proanthocyanidins) are widespread polymers of catechins and are essential for the defence mechanisms of vascular plants (Tracheophyta). A large body of evidence argues for the synthesis of monomeric epicatechin on the cytosolic face of the endoplasmic reticulum and its transport to the vacuole, although the site of its polymerization into tannins remains to be elucidated. The aim of the study was to re-examine the cellular frame of tannin polymerization in various representatives of the Tracheophyta.

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Condensed tannins take an important part in the sensory quality of food and beverage. Sensory analyses are usually carried out with various tannin fractions isolated from food or beverage, and their interpretation are limited by the lack of knowledge in the fine and accurate molecular composition of the tannin fractions. Besides, the studies of the chemical reactivity conducted in model solutions with 'simple' flavanols allow a better understanding of their evolution pathways, but they cannot take into account their reactivity as polymers, specifically regarding oxidation.

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Condensed tannins are a major class of plant polyphenols. They play an important part in the colour and taste of foods and beverages. Due to their chemical reactivity, tannins are not stable once extracted from plants.

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The determination of the molecular mass distribution of tannins is still a challenge. To elucidate it, mass spectrometry is potentially interesting, but many previous studies have highlighted that the mass spectra of a tannin fraction do not always reflect the actual abundance of different chain lengths. To clarify the potentialities offered by the MS approach, a comprehensive study involving different tannin fractions analysed under different conditions was conducted with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source.

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Grape and apple condensed tannin fractions were autoxidized at high concentrations (5 g/L) in aqueous solutions and analyzed by thiolysis (depolymerization followed by HPLC analysis) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Structural parameters of native (unoxidized) tannin polymers were derived from SAXS according to the wormlike chain model: the length per monomer is 15 A, the length of the statistical segment 17 A, and the cross section of the macromolecule has a radius within the range 3-4.5 A.

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The consumption of red wine can provide substantial concentrations of antioxidant polyphenols, in particular grape anthocyanins (e.g., malvidin-3-O-beta-d-glucoside (1)) and specific red wine pigments formed by reaction between anthocyanins and other wine components such as catechin (3), ethanol, and hydroxycinnamic acids.

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Two new colorless phenolic compounds were formed from malvidin 3- O-glucoside incubated in an ethanolic solution. Their structures were characterized by means of one- and two-dimensional NMR analysis and through electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. As compared to the structure of the initial anthocyanin skeleton, the first new compound showed the presence of two fused five-membered rings replacing the pyran ring and of a carbonyl function on the 2-position.

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Lower molecular weight polyphenols including proanthocyanidin oligomers can be analyzed after HPLC separation on either reversed-phase or normal phase columns. However, these techniques are time consuming and can have poor resolution as polymer chain length and structural diversity increase. The detection of higher molecular weight compounds, as well as the determination of molecular weight distributions, remain major challenges in polyphenol analysis.

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The physicochemical properties of 8,8-methylmethine catechin-malvidin 3-O-glucoside isomers, commonly referred to as catechin-ethyl-malvidin 3-O-glucoside, have been studied in aqueous solutions and compared with those of the parent anthocyanin (malvidin 3-O-glucoside). The hydration and acidity constants (pKh and pKa) of the catechin-ethyl-malvidin 3-O-glucoside pigments and malvidin 3-O-glucoside were determined by UV-visible spectroscopic measurements. The ethyl-linked catechin-malvidin 3-O-glucoside pigments present higher stability toward hydration than the parent anthocyanin.

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A red wine, made from Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) and Tannat (40%) cultivars, was fractionated by high speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC). The biphasic solvent system consisting of tert-butyl methyl ether/n-butanol/acetonitrile/water (2/2/1/5, acidified with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid) was chosen for its demonstrated efficiency in separating anthocyanins.

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The reaction between procyanidin dimer Ec-EcG (B2 3'-O-gallate) and malvidin 3-O-glucoside (Mv3glc) was studied in a model solution system at two different pH values, 2.0 and 3.8.

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Reactions of seed and skin proanthocyanidins in the presence or absence of (-)-epicatechin were followed in winelike solutions over 53 days at 30 degrees C. Proanthocyanidins were separated from flavanol monomers by sequential elution from a Sep Pak cartridge, and changes in proanthocyanidin composition were monitored by thiolysis analysis of the proanthocyanidin fraction. In solutions containing no free (-)-epicatechin, trace amounts of monomers were released and important losses of proanthocyanidins were measured, but their average composition and mean degree of polymerization (mDP) were hardly modified.

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Analysis of wine fractions before and after thiolysis confirmed the occurrence in red wine of direct reactions between anthocyanins and tannins established earlier in model solutions. Results showed the presence of two types of structures differing in the linkage position of the anthocyanin moiety. On one hand, detection of malvidin-3-glucoside (Mv3g) among thiolysis products revealed the presence of anthocyanin-derived pigments in which Mv3g is linked by its C-6 or C-8 top.

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