Patent ID: 6841687

Claim:
A process for isolation of (−)-epicatechin from a new plant source Dichrostachys cinerea , said process comprising the steps of: (a) extracting the dried wood powder of Dichrostachys cinerea with hexane; (b) extracting the residue of step (a) with chloroform; (c) extracting the residue of step (b) with methanol solution to obtain a methanolic extract; (d) concentrating the methanolic extract of step (c) under vacuum; (e) adsorbing the concentrated methanolic extract of step (d) on silica gel and loading on silica gel column; (f) eluting the column with chloroform methanol gradient, (g) collecting the fraction eluted at 6% methanol in chloroform, and (h) concentrating the eluted fraction of step (g) to obtain pure (−)-epicatechin.