[Polyphenolic composition of the leaf of bilberry]

Dried leaves of 14 harvested batches and one batch from commercial origine of Vaccinium myrtillus L present a similar polyphenolic pattern. The mean levels of the harvested batches and the levels of the commercial batch were respectively: total polyphenol compounds 12.98 and 10.62%, tannins 7.84 and 7.43%, total flavonoid compounds 2.98 and 2.20% (spectrophotometry), 1.41 and 1.16% (HPLC), quercetin 3-glucuronide 1.02 and 0.83%, hyperoside 0.22 and 0.16%, chlorogenic acid 3.66 and 1.58%. The levels were higher in young leaves and lower in old leaves. A specific chromatographic profile of the flavonoid compounds and a determination method of the tannin or the total polyphenol content were proposed in a standardization purpose.