Peanut-skin polyphenols, procyanidin A1 and epicatechin-(4 β → 6)-epicatechin-(2 β → O → 7, 4 β → 8)-catechin, exert cholesterol micelle-degrading activity in vitro.

We identified epicatechin-(4 beta -> 6)-epicatechin-(2 beta -> O -> 7, 4 beta -> 8)-catechin (EEC) in the skin of the peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). EEC (a trimer) showed more potent cholesterol micelle-degrading activity than procyanidin A1 (a dimer) did in vitro. The hypercholesterolemia suppressing effect of a peanut skin polyphenol on rats fed high-cholesterol diet in our preceding experiments might thus have been due primarily to a micelle degrading effect in the intestine.