Analysis of Proanthocyanidins in Plant Materials Using Hydrophilic Interaction HPLC-QTOF-MS.

Proanthocyanidins (PACs) have been proven to possess a wide range of biological activities, but complex structures limit their study of structure-function relationships. Therefore, an efficient and general method using hydrophilic interaction high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-QTOF-MS) was established to analyze PACs from different plant materials. This method was successfully applied to characterize PACs from Chinese bayberry ( Sieb.

Simultaneous Extraction and Depolymerization of Condensed Tannins from Chinese Bayberry Leaves for Improved Bioavailability and Antioxidant Activity.

Biorefineries of polyphenols from plant leaves maximize their commercial value for developing biomedicines and nutrients. However, condensed tannins (CTs) constitute extensive polyphenols from plant leaves, which hinders the maximization due to extremely low bioavailability. Therefore, a simple, and sustainable one-step method was established to simultaneously extract polyphenols and depolymerize CTs with only endogenous flavan-3-ols from Chinese bayberry leaves via acid catalysis, which markedly improved the bioavailability of total polyphenols.

synthesis of ZnO-GO/CGH composites for visible light photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

A novel ZnO-GO/CGH composite was prepared using an synthesis process for photodegradation of methylene blue under visible light illumination. The chitin-graphene composite hydrogel (CGH) was used to provide uniform binding of the nano ZnO-GO composite to the hydrogel surface and prevent their agglomeration. GO provides multi-dimensional protons and electron transport channels for ZnO with a flower-like structure, which possessed improved photo-catalytic activity.