Structural analysis of A-type or B-type highly polymeric proanthocyanidins by thiolytic degradation and the implication in their inhibitory effects on pancreatic lipase.

Compared with oligomeric proanthocyanidins, highly polymeric proanthocyanidins have more difficulty to analyze the molecular sizes and the mode of interflavan linkages of flavan-3-ol units through doubly linked A-type bonds and single B-type bonds. Recently, we have shown that seed shells of the Japanese horse chestnut contain highly polymeric proanthocyanidins as dominant polyphenolics that can be separated into two fractions according to the difference in the molecular sizes. Here, we tried to perform the structural characterization of them in terms of the molecular sizes and the proportions of A-type linkages relative to B-type linkages. The results were compared with those of the corresponding preparations with variations in the sizes from fruits of blueberry and cranberry. Gel permeation chromatography revealed that the molecular sizes of them were higher in the order of blueberry > cranberry > seed shells of the Japanese horse chestnut when they are compared between the respective fractions. For the analysis of terminal and extension units of those proanthocyanidins, the isolated fractions were subjected to the thiolytic cleavage of the B-type linkages using 1-dodecanethiol, and the resulting degradation products were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/MS). These analyses provided fast and good resolution of the degradation products and revealed higher proportions of A-type linkages compared with B-type linkages in the both isolated fractions in the order of the seed shells > cranberry > blueberry. Moreover, the isolated fractions with higher molecular sizes and those more abundant in the proportions of A-type linkages were found to be more effective in the inhibition of pancreatic lipase activity. The results suggest that higher molecular sizes and more abundance of A-type bonds in polymeric proanthocyanidins are promising key factors for the attenuation of lipid digestion as dietary supplements.