Analysis of Dimeric Proanthocyanidins

Much of this effort has been focussed on developing a more detailed understanding of the conformational preferences and flexibility of the proanthocyanidin polymers and their interaction with polypeptides. The conformational properties of the polyflavanoids have thus been studied by using a variety of molecular mechanics and molecular orbital computations (7, 10, 14) in combination with crystal structures (77, 12), time-resolved fluorescence (S, 9) as well as and NMR methods (13, 14,17). Representative references to these techniques may be found in the papers listed in references (14)-(20), which in themselves are arguably the most authoritative reports recently published on this important branch of the chemistry of the proanthocyanidins. These results are summarized using the significant recent contributions of Hatano and Hemingway (79). 

This review clearly demonstrates that considerable progress has been made to gain insight into the complex factors that govern the chemistry of the proanthocyanidin oligomers. It may be anticipated that the rapid advances that have been made in conformational analysis of these compounds will continue and will contribute towards understanding of the intricate principles governing the complexation of proanthocyanidins with other biomolecules. 

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