Summary
When present in the leaves of a plant, leuco-anthocyanins are almost always present also in the seeds, but they may be present in the seeds although absent from the leaves. It is usually in the seed-coats that they are found, but occasionally (as in cacao) they are also present in the cotyledons. In legumes, leuco-anthocyanins when present (as they usually are) in the seed-coats can produce undesirable effects in food technology, but their presence or absence is under gene control and they can therefore be eliminated by breeding. In certain fruits, such as grapes, it is the leuco-anthocyanins in the seeds that are responsible in large degree for the tannin content of the fruit as a whole or of products made from them, and for this reason also they are important in commerce and technology.
Résumé
Lorsqu'ils sont présents dans les feuilles d'une plante les leuco-anthocyannes le sont aussi presque toujours dans les graines, mais ils peuvent être présents dans les graines quoique absents des feuilles. On les rencontre généralement dans les enveloppes des graines mais aussi quelque fois dans les cotylédons (dans le cacao par exemple). Dans les légumes les leuco-anthocyannes, quand ils sont présents (ce qui est généralement le cas), dans les enveloppes des graines peuvent produire des effets indésirables en technologie alimentaire; mais leur présence ou leur absence étant sous le contrôle de gênes, ils peuvent être éliminés par croisements. Dans certains fruits, comme les raisins, ce sont les leuco-anthocyannes des graines qui sont pour une grande part, responsables de la teneur en tannin du fruit dans son ensemble ou des produits à la fabrication desquels ils servent; pour cette raison aussi les leuco-anthocyannes sont importants au point de vue commercial et économique.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bate-Smith, E. C. &Lerner, N. H., 1954. Leuco-anthocyanins. 2. Systematic distribution of leuco-anthocyanins in leaves.Biochem. J. 58 126.
Bate-Smith, E. C. &Metcalfe, C. R., 1957. Leuco-anthocyanins. 3. The nature and systematic distribution of tannins in dicotyledonous plants.J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) 55 362.
Bate-Smith, E. C., 1953. Colour reaction of flowers attributed to (a) flavonols and (b) carotenoid oxides.J. exp. Bot. 4 1.
Robinson, G. M. &Robinson, R., 1933. A survey of anthocyanins. III. Notes on the distribution of leuco-anthocyanins.Biochem. J. 27 206.
Robinson, G. M. &Robinson, R., 1934. Leuco-anthocyanins. IV.Biochem. J. 28 1712.
Tayeau, F. &Masquelier, J., 1949. Les pigments de la graine d'Arachide. 1. Le chromogène.Bull. Soc. Chim. biol., Paris 31 72.
Dickinson, D., Knight, M. &Rees, D. I., 1957. Varieties of broad beans suitable for canning.Chem. & Ind., p. 1503.
Bate-Smith, E. C., 1954. Leuco-anthocyanins. 1. Detection and identification of anthocyanidins formed from leuco-anthocyanins in plant tissues.Biochem. J. 58 122.
Harris, G., 1956. Chromatographic separation of hop and malt tannin.J. Inst. Brew. 62 390.
Harris, G. &Ricketts, R. W., 1958. Isolation of polyphenols and polyphenolic acids of malt husk.J. Inst. Brew. 64 22.
Bate-Smith, E. C., 1958. Plant phenolics as taxonomic guides.Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. (in the press).
Knapp, A. W. &Hearne, J. F., 1939. The presence of leuco-anthocyanins in Criollo cacao.Analyst 64 475.
Forsyth, W. G. C., 1952. Cacao polyphenolic substances. 1. Fractionation of the fresh bean.Biochem. J. 51 511.
Bate-Smith, E. C. &Swain, T., 1953. Identification of leuco-anthocyanins as „tannins“ in foods.Chem. & Ind., p. 377.
Schuphan, W. &Weinmann, I., 1956. Chemisch-physikalische Untersuchungen zur Samendiagnostik von Brassicaarten und -sorten.Naturwissenschaften 43 452.
Weinmann, I., 1956. Untersuchungen zur Samendiagnostik vonBrassica-Arten und -Sorten unter besonderer Berücksichtigung chemisch-physikalischer Methoden.Z. Pflanzenzüchting,36 1.
Howes, F. N., 1953. Vegetable tanning materials. (p. 3). London: Butterworth's Scientific Publications.
Hillis, W. E. &Swain, T., 1957. Influence of illumination on the synthesis of leuco-anthocyanins in leaves.Nature, Lond.,179 586.
Ribéreau-Gayon, P., 1957. Leucocyanidin in red wines.C. R. Acad. Agric. Fr. 43 197.
Ribéreau-Gayon, P., 1957. Leucocyanidin in red wines, complementary observations.C. R. Acad. Agric. Fr. 43 596.
Bate-Smith, E. C., 1954. Astringency in foods.Food 23 124.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bate-Smith, E.C., Ribéreau-Gayon, P. Leuco-anthocyanins in seeds. Plant Food Hum Nutr 5, 189–198 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01100181
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01100181