BETACYANINS FROM PLANTS AND CELL-CULTURES OF PHYTOLACCA-AMERICANA

Betacyanins from cell cultures of Phytolacca americana were characteri zed and compared with those of the stems and ripening fruits of the pl ant. Whereas in fruits prebetanin (betanin 6'-O-sulphate) and its isof orm predominate, in the stem and cell cultures feruloylated derivative s occur as the major components. These were rigorously identified by v arious spectroscopic techniques (DAD-HPLC, NMR, LC-MS and electrospray MS-MS) and carbohydrate analyses as betanidin 5-O-[(5 2'-O-beta-D-api ofuranosyl]-beta-D-glucopyranoside, a new betacyanin of higher plants, and betanidin 5-O-(6'-O-E-feruloyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (lampranth in II), together with their isoforms.