NATURE OF THE CONDENSED TANNINS PRESENT IN THE DIETARY FIBER FRACTIONS IN FOODS

Condensed tannins may be regarded as indigestible, or at least of only limited digestibility, throughout their presence in the dietary fibre fractions of different foodstuffs. This study examines the condensed tannins in the soluble and insoluble dietary fibre fractions of three quite different foods: pears, lentils and cocoa. Mean molecule size of the tannins present in the dietary fibre fractions was larger than th at of the tannins present in the foodstuffs overall. The protein prese nt in both the whole foodstuffs and in the dietary fibre fractions alo ne was also studied, and relationships between protein content and con densed tannin size were established.