The structural variety of the condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) in the fruits of 16
Diospyros species are reported. Eleven species contained condensed tannins mostly consisting of a mixture of catechin (CA) and gallocatechin
(GCA) repeating units; the other five species did not. The GCA content in the CA-GCA total varied from 0.3% to 84.6%. The
number of esterified gallic acid per one flavan repeating unit (degree of galloylation, DG) ranged from 0.01 to 0.89. The
GCA content was found to be proportional to the DG values. Thus, 16
Diospyros species tested may be classified into five groups by the analytical data of their condensed tannins. It may be interesting
to compare their structural characteristics with those of the condensed tannins in other fruits, leaves, woods, and barks
from the viewpoint of their biosynthesis and function in the plants.
Key words
Diospyros species - Ebenaceae - Persimmon fruit - Chemical structure - Condensed tannins
Part of this paper was presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1995