title: Distribution and content of ellagitannins in Finnish plant species.
abstract: The results of a screening study, in which a total of 82 Finnish plant species were studied for their ellagitannin composition and content, are presented. The total ellagitannin content was determined by HPLC-DAD, the detected ellagitannins were further characterized by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS and divided into four structurally different sub-groups. Thirty plant species were found to contain ellagitannins and the ellagitannin content in the crude extracts varied from few mgg(-1) to over a hundred mgg(-1). Plant families that were rich in ellagitannins (>90mgg(-1) of the crude extract) were Onagraceae, Lyhtraceae, Geraniaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Fagaceae and some species from Rosaceae. Plant species that contained moderate amounts of ellagitannins (31-89mgg(-1) of the crude extract) were representatives of the family Rosaceae. Plant species that contained low amounts of ellagitannins (1-30mgg(-1) of the crude extract) were representatives of the families Betulaceae and Myricaceae. The specific ellagitannin composition of the species allowed their chemotaxonomic classification and the comparison between the older Cronquist's classification and the nowadays preferred Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland. Electronic address: jmmoil@utu.fi.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moilanen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Piia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koskinen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha-Pekka
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Salminen
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D031263:Elaeagnaceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D029962:Fagaceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D005387:Finland; D031314:Geraniaceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D029594:Onagraceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D027824:Rosaceae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; C013515:ellagitannin
keywords: Characterization; Chemotaxonomy; Ellagitannin; Hydrolysable tannin; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry