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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
Published on: November 30, 2020
Condensed tannin changes induced by autoxidation: effect of the initial degree of polymerization and concentration
Aude Vernhet1, Stéphanie Carrillo, Céline Poncet-Legrand
1INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, and Université Montpellier 1, UMR1083 SPO, F-34060 Montpellier, France.
Abstract:
Condensed tannins are a major class of polyphenols and play an important part in organoleptic properties of beverages. Because of their structure, they are chemically reactive. During food processing, reactions take place, leading to structural changes of the native structures to give modified tannins and pigments. Average degrees of polymerization (DPs) determined by standard depolymerization methods become irrelevant, because bonds created from oxidation are uncleavable. Small-angle X-ray scattering was used to determine the conformation of native and autoxidized tannins and assess the impact of tannins initial DP and concentration on changes induced by autoxidation. Different behaviors were observed: (i) slight increase of the DP when tannins were oxidized in dilute solutions; (ii) increase of the DP with tannins in concentrated solutions, leading to the formation of longer linear chains or branched macromolecules depending on the initial DP.
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