Radioisotope Method for Characterization of Vegetable Tannins, Extracted from Waste of Forestry Production in Cuba

Vegetable tannins are polyphenolic plants secondary metabolites, widely distributed in all parts of trees and herbs. The role of these substances in many metabolic processes is very important. Vegetable tannins have been implicated as probable antinutritional factors, decreasing the assimilation of diet protein assimilation by cattle. On the other hand, protective antioxidant and antimutagenic properties have been ascribed for these compounds. Characterization of vegetable tannins is important in order to find new sources of natural raw materials with medical and pharmaceutical applications. Protein precipitation capacity as a function of pH, competitive protein and ADN binding assays and the determination of tannins concentration are described. Radioisotope labeled protein and tannins were used in all of the determinations.