The RP-HPLC analysis of anthocyanins

Control of anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway gene expression by eutypine, a toxin from Eutypa lata, in grape cell tissue cultures

Eutypine, 4-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-3-butene-1-ynyl) benzaldehyde, is a toxin produced by Eutypa lata, the causal agent of Eutypa dieback in grapevine. The effect of the toxin on anthocyanin synthesis has been investigated in Vitis vinifera cv. Gamay cell cultures. At concentrations higher than 200 micromol/L, eutypine reduced anthocyanin accumulation in cells. The reduction in anthocyanin accumulation was proportional to the eutypine concentrations and HPLC analysis showed that eutypine affected the levels of all anthocyanins. The effect of eutypine application on the expression of five genes of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, including chalcone synthase (CHS), flavonone-3-hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase (LDOX), and UDP glucose-flavonoid 3-O-glucosyl transferase (UFGT) was determined. Expression of CHS, F3H, DFR and LDOXwas not affected by the addition of eutypine to grapevine cell cultures. In contrast, expression of the UFGT gene was dramatically inhibited by the toxin. These results suggest that in grapevine cell cultures, eutypine strongly affects anthocyanin accumulation by inhibiting UFGT gene expression. The mechanism of action of eutypine is discussed.

Determination of anthocyanidins in berries and red wine by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of anthocyanidins from berries and red wine is described. Delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, and malvidin contents of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), black currant (Ribes nigrum), strawberry (Fragaria ananassa cv. Jonsok), and a Cabernet sauvignon (Vitis vinifera) red wine were determined. The aglycon forms of the anthocyanins present in the samples were revealed by acid hydrolysis. A reversed phase analytical column was employed to separate the anthocyanidins before identification by diode array detection. The suitability of the method was tested by determining the recovery (95-102% as aglycons and 69-104% from glycosides) for each anthocyanidin. Method repeatability was tested by charting the total aglycon content of two samples over a period of 14 analyses and determining the coefficients of variation (1.41% for bilberry and 2.56% for in-house reference material). The method developed proved thus to be effective for reliable determination of anthocyanidins from freeze-dried berry samples and red wine. The total anthocyanidin content of the tested samples was as follows: in-house reference material, 447 +/- 8 mg/100 g; strawberry, 23.8 +/- 0.4 mg/100 g; black currant, 135 +/- 3 mg/100 g; bilberry, 360 +/- 3 mg/100 g; and Cabernet sauvignon red wine, 26.1 +/- 0.1 mg/100 mL.