Accurate quantification of PACs sought

In recent years, scientific studies have shown that cranberries contain the unique A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) that may “help reduce the adhesion of certain E. coli bacteria to the urinary tract walls,” [1] with a minimum of 36 mg cranberry PACs delivering an efficacious dose.  Doubts have arisen, however, over the accuracy of the current methods of PAC measurement in cranberries.

Recently, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. and Complete Phytochemical Solutions, LLC announced a collaboration on a project to improve the accuracy of measuring and quantifying of PACs in cranberries. Their goal is to develop a cranberry based/cranberry specific PAC standard (derived from cranberry fruit) as an alternative to the Procyanidin A2 (dimer) standard currently utilised in the DMAC [2] method.

The two colorimetric methods currently used by the industry can deliver vastly different results. The recently introduced DMAC method provides an accurate quantification of PAC content based on the use of the Procyanidin A2 standard which is a dimer (chain length of 2), but can lead to an under-estimation of PAC content in products that are enriched in PACs of different sizes and lengths (degree of polymerization from 2-8 up to >10).

Amy Howell, associate research scientist at Rutgers University and member of the project team comments, “Since DMAC is now considered to be the industry standard method, we are committed to improving its accuracy for all cranberry products by developing a more robust, commercially available cranberry PAC standard. We are proud to partner with leading cranberry supplier, Ocean Spray, on this initiative.  We anticipate this new methodology will provide more confidence for suppliers, consumers and regulatory agencies in the assessment of PAC content which will have a significant impact on the cranberry industry.”

Variations in processing techniques for cranberry products can lead to significant differences in PAC composition. The industry is calling for an improvement to the current standardised method to provide product specific quantification for compounds in a natural product like cranberNike Lebron 10