Patent ID: 7306815

Claim:
A method of preparing a composition enriched in phenolic compounds, comprising: a) providing a crude extract of one or more plant materials that contain phenolic compounds, said extract comprising proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, and polar non-phenolic compounds; b) filtering said crude extract; c) contacting said filtered extract with a substituted polymer resin consisting essentially of aromatic rings substituted with one or more electron-withdrawing groups and operative to releasably absorb said phenols but not retain said polar non-phenolic compounds; d) washing said resin with a wash eluent to elute said polar non-phenolic compounds; e) eluting the resin with a first eluent and collecting a first fraction containing phenolic compounds; f) eluting the resin with a second eluent and collecting a second fraction containing phenolic compounds; and g) isolating the fraction from step e) or step f) or combining said fractions from steps e) and f) to obtain a composition enriched in phenolic compounds, wherein said composition has decreased levels of said polar non-phenolic compounds as compared to levels of polar non-phenolic compounds in the crude extract.