Catechin Standards

Catechins are polyphenolic secondary plant metabolites that occur in many botanicals and medicinal plants, e.g., cinnamon, cocoa, cola, vine, hawthorn, or green tea.^[1]

The basic catechin skeleton consists of a benzene ring fused to a dihydropyran heterocycle with a phenyl ring and a hydroxyl group attached. This structure exhibits two chiral centers, leading to four diastereoisomers. Depending on their configuration, they are referred to as catechins or epicatechins. Due to their structural characteristics, Catechins belong to the Flavonoid subclass of Flavanols. Catechin conjugates such as the gallate ester (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) belong to the Gallocatechins while Catechin/Epicatechin oligomers are assigned to the Procyanidins. Because of their physicochemical properties procyanidins are also referred to as condensed Tannins:

Catechins have various positive health effects on the human organism.^[2-6] Therefore, catechin, epicatechins and gallates of epicatechin are widely used as natural antioxidants, and extracts rich in (epi)catechin derivatives have gained a high market importance as functional ingredients in food supplements and cosmetics.

At the same time, however, very high doses of EGCG appear to have a hepatotoxic potential under certain conditions of use in vulnerable populations. Therefore, based on an EFSA safety assessment, conditions of use have been imposed for EGCG and certain ingredients containing EGCG by Regulation (EU) 2022/2340 and were included in Part B of Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006.^[7,8] With the exception of traditionally prepared green tea and equivalent aqueous extracts, the daily portion of foods containing green tea extracts or EGCG as ingredients shall contain less than 800 mg of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate.

Whether for quality control of food & feed or pharmacological research: PhytoLab is offering you an outstanding portfolio of highly purified and well characterized phyproof® reference standards for the reliable quantitative analysis of EGCG and numerous other mono- and oligomeric catechin derivatives.

Find your compound below:

[1] Y. Yilmaz, Novel uses of catechins in foods, Trends in Food Science & Technology 2006, 17 (2), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2005.10.005.

[2] J.J.López, I. Jardín, G.M. Salido, J.A. Rosado Life Sci. 2008, 82 (19-20), 977-982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2008.03.009

[3] Y. Fujii, J. Sakata, F. Sato, K. Onishi, Y. Yamato, K. Sakata, S. Taira, H. Sato, N. Osakabe, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Com. 2021, 585, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.11.021

[4] J. V. Higdon, B. Frei, Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 2003, 43(1), 89–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408690390826464

[5] J. Bae N. Kim, Y. Shin Biomed. Dermatol. 2020, 4, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41702-020-0057-8

[6] J. L. Donovan, V. Crespy, M. Oliveira, K.A. Cooper, B.B. Gibson, G. Williamson, Free Radic. Res. 2006, 40(10), 1029–1034. https://doi.org/10.1080/10715760600868545

[7] Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the addition of vitamins and minerals and of certain other substances to foods 2006, p. 26–38. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1925/oj

[8] Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2340 amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards green tea extracts containing (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate 2022. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2340/oj