THE DMAC ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN CREATED BY SCIENTISTS WITH WORLDWIDE RECOGNITION FOR THEIR RESEARCH ON CRANBERRY PROANTHOCYANIDINS (PACs)

  • Proanthocyanidins are large and complex polyphenolic compounds that have potent health benefits. Their size and molecular structures make cranberry PACs difficult to analyze properly.
  • With increasing consumer interest in utilizing cranberry for health benefits, it is important to recognize the wide variability in the potency and the stability of different products made from cranberry.
  • Consumer product manufacturers need to understand how to properly analyze and report PAC levels to ensure that consumers are provided with efficacious cranberry products.

A and B-type PACs

  • Cranberries contain both double bond A-type PACs and single bond B-type PACs. The vast majority (>95%) of all PACs in cranberry contain at least one A-type PAC and are therefore called “A-type PACs.” The double bond found in A-type PACs makes them more unusual and complex than the single bond B-type PACs found in most other plant sources.
  • Cranberry A-type bonds have been implicated in uropathogenic E. Coli bacterial anti-adhesion for the prevention of urinary tract infections, while B-type PACs have not.