Abstract
Tannins are polymeric compounds with sufficient phenolic groups to complex with proteins and other macromolecules. Total concentrations of tannins in leaf litter are often negatively correlated with feeding preferences and digestion efficiencies of consumers, and with microbial decomposition rates. This chapter presents a method to estimate total tannins in leaf litter based on their ability to bind to and precipitate proteins. Tannins are extracted from plant material in aqueous acetone (30% water). A standard protein is dissolved in a thin agar gel spread evenly in a Petri dish. Wells are punched in the gel and known amounts of plant extract added to the wells. The tannins in the plant extract diffuse into the protein-containing agar where they will bind to and precipitate the protein. The resulting phenol-protein complex appears as plaque with an area proportional to the protein-precipitating activity. Thus, the radial diffusion assay directly addresses a key aspect of the biological significance of these compounds.
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Graça, M.A.S., Bärlocher, F. (2020). Radial Diffusion Assay for Tannins. In: Bärlocher, F., Gessner, M., Graça, M. (eds) Methods to Study Litter Decomposition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30515-4_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30515-4_19
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