We previously showed that the polymeric forms of polyphenols present in oolong tea extract exhibited strong inhibitory activities against glucosyltransferases (GTases) of mutans streptococci, while green tea extract, which is rich in catechins, did not show such GTase-inhibitory activities. In this study, (+)-catechin [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-1-benzopyran-3,5,7-triol] was found t...

Anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) and leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) play an important role in the monomeric units biosynthesis of proanthocyanidins (PAs) such as catechin and epicatechin in several plants. The aim of this study was to clone ANR and LAR genes involved in PAs biosynthesis and examine the expression of these two genes in different organs under different growth conditions in two t...

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of catechin on apoptotic cell death in the lens epithelium of rats with cataract. METHODS Cataract was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg/kg N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) to ten day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. The neonatal rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=15 in each group): a control group, and four cataract-induction groups, treated wit...

Arsenic poisoning is a major environmental event affecting millions worldwide and its treatment with chelating agents has met with limited success. While arsenic toxicity affects multiple systems in the human body, its mode of action has not been fully elucidated. The present study therefore, investigated the possible protective effects of catechin against hepatorenal damage and dyslipidemia in...

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is rich in specialized metabolites, especially polyphenolic proanthocyanidins (PAs) and their precursors. To better understand the PA pathway in tea, we generated a complementary DNA library from leaf tissue of the blister blightresistant tea cultivar TRI2043 and functionally characterized key enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of PA precursors. Structural genes en...

Our previous study revealed that aqueous extract of grape pomace obtained from a winemaking process could exert bactericidal action upon photo-irradiation via reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. In the present study, we focused on chemical composition and prooxidative profile of the extract. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) analysis showed that po...

The procyanidins (the most common type of proanthocyanidin or condensed tannin) from cell suspension cultures derived from cotyledons of Douglas Fir have been compared with those isolated from leaves of strawberry and avocado. Seventy per cent methanol (v/v) extracts from 100 milligrams fresh weight samples were analyzed by a combination of C(18)-reversed-phase columns with high-performance liq...

AIM To evaluate the antifungal effect of gallic acid, catechin, luteolin and quercetin, phenolic compounds identified from flowers of North Eastern Portugal, against Candida planktonic and biofilm cells. MATERIALS & METHODS The MICs were determined in Candida planktonic cells and the effect of phenolic compounds on Candida biofilms was assessed through quantification of colony-forming units. ...

A mimicked biosynthetic pathway of catechin metabolite genes from C. sinensis, consisting of flavanone 3 hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR), and leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LCR), was designed and arranged in two sets of constructs: (a) single promoter in front of F3H and ribosome-binding sequences both in front of DFR and LCR; (b) three different promoters with each in the fro...

This study aimed to determine individual phenolic compounds of common produced Turkish raisins. As material, Sultan 7, Antep Karasi and Razaki raisins were used. The HPLC method was performed for the analysis 11 compounds. major acid trans-caftaric flavan-3-ol also (+)-catechin. varied between 21.56 46.84 µg/g in samples (+)-catechin 2.21 74.12 µg/g. Caffeic second most abundant with 11.06-21.5...