Ellagitannins are a structurally diverse class of polyphenolics found in many fruits, nuts, and woody plants. Plants with high concentrations of ellagitannins have been attributed to a variety of health benefits and they are important contributors to color, flavor, and stability of many foods. These compounds present numerous analytical challenges to identify and characterize based on their structural complexity and difficulty to separate using partition chromatography. This chapter describes the predominant ellagitannins present in fruits, nuts, and oak wood used for the storage of wine and distilled spirits, and describes methods for their extraction, isolation, and analysis using spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques. 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
