First evidence of hexameric and heptameric ellagitannins in plants detected by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry.

Ellagitannins are bioactive plant polyphenols of which more than 500 individual compounds have been identified from plants. An ellagitannin-rich fraction was isolated by Sephadex LH-20 from Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) leaves and roots and analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography/diode-array detection coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry with an electrospray ionisation interface. The high-molecular mass ellagitannins were characterised by their UV spectra, molecular masses and mass spectral fragments. In addition to the previously reported dimers and trimers, an entire series of oligomeric ellagitannins from dimers to heptamers was characterised in both roots and leaves of O. biennis. This is the first report of natural ellagitannins larger than pentamers.