Anthocyanin Pigments in Bing Cherries a

SUMMARY The anthocyanin pigments of Bing cherries ( Prunus avium L. var. Bing) were extracted with 1% methanolic HCl, partially purified by extraction from an n ‐butanol‐ether mixture with water, and then separated by paper chromatography with various solvents. The anthocyanins were identified by, R f values, sugar moiety, alkaline degradation products of the aglycone, partial acid hydrolysis, and absorption spectra. The major pigments were shown to be cyanidin 3‐rutinoside and cyanidin 3‐glucoside. Also present were small amounts of cyanidin, peonidin, peonidin 3‐gucoside, and peonidin 3‐rutinoside. The fluorescence spectra of the anthocyanin pigments, when excited with an incident light at 300 mμ, can be used to differentiate the anthocyanins. The cyanidin‐containing pigments have a characteristic fluorescence peak at 520 mμ, whereas the peonidin ones exhibited a peak at 610 mμ.