AOAC SPDS Meeting Book March 19 2015

3/11/2015

What Are Plant Phenolics?

• 8,000 Phenolic structures known  • Account for 40% of organic carbon circulating in the  biosphere • Evolution of vascular plants: in cell wall structures, plant  defense, features of woods and barks, flower color, flavors. • Dietary Antioxidants • Core to bioactivity of many supplements

Challenges of Phenolic Analysis

• Multiple Analytes – > 8000 known compounds

• Lack of Standards – Many compounds are not  available as commercial standards.  

• Standards are expensive and of uncertain purity

• Many are unstable, particularly for quantitative  analysis

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