| Abstract: | Recently found polyphenols of new types which are widely distributed in the Dicotyledoneae of the Angiospermae, are reviewed. These oligomeric hydrolysable tannins are classified according to the linkage between monomers, into five types: (i) GOG (and GOGOG), (ii) DOG, (iii) GOD, (iv) D(OG)2 and (v) C-glucosidic type, where G = galloyl, O = oxygen and D = hexahydroxydiphenoyl. The types (ii) and (iii) were further classified into two subtypes according to the regioisomerism of the ether bond in the linking unit. The distribution of these various oligomers in plants, and the possibility of utilizing them as chemotaxonomic markers are presented. |
