Phenolic acids in defatted seeds of borage (Borago officinalis L.)

An ethanolic extract of borage meat was fractionated (fractions I-VI) on a Sephadex LH-20 column. All fractions tested positive for phenolics, but wer e negative for condensed tannins. Silica gel thin-layer chromatography (TLC ) of fractions allowed the location of one and two strong antioxidative spo ts in fractions I and IV, respectively. Other fractions produced spots cont aining either weak antioxidative compounds or compounds with low concentrat ions, High performance liquid chromatography of the three major TLC spots i n fractions I and IV showed the presence of one phenolic compound in each s pot. Ultraviolet, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and proton-proton corre lation spectroscopies, as well as electron impact-mass spectrometry, allowe d the identification of three phenolic acids, namely rosmarinic acid in fra ction I, and syringic and sinapic acids in fraction IV. These three compoun ds contributed to 3.9% of the dry mass of the crude extract whereas their t otal contribution in the meal was 0.6% (w/w). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.