Plant Proanthocyanidin (OPC) Content Assay Kit

Overview

This kit measures plant proanthocyanidin content rather than the activity of enzymes involved in proanthocyanidin metabolism. It uses the color produced by reaction with vanillin under acidic conditions to assess content rather than identify individual proanthocyanidin compounds.

Proanthocyanidins are polyphenolic compounds composed of flavanol monomers and oligomers or polymers. They occur widely in plants and are studied for antioxidant and free-radical-scavenging properties.

Assay principle

Under acidic conditions, proanthocyanidins react with vanillin to form colored products with a characteristic absorbance at 500 nm.