Also known as tannic acid, a chemical that occurs in many plants, particularly tea.
It may cause constipation, and large amounts cause liver damage.
Tannin, or tannic acid, is an uncrystallisable white powder, soluble in water or glycerin. It is extracted from oak galls in large amount, but it is also present in almost all vegetable infusions. Tannic acid acts as an astringent.
a substance which has an astringent action, and helps seal the tissue.
A group of simple and complex phenol, polyphenol, and flavonoid compounds, bound with starches, and often so amorphous that they are classified as tannins simply because at some point in degradation they are astringent and contain variations on gallic acid. Produced by plants, tannins are generally protective substances found in the outer and inner tissues, often breaking down in time to phlebotannins and, finally, humin. All of the tannins are relatively resistant to digestion or fermentation, and either decrease the ability of animals to easily consume the living plant, or, as in deciduous trees, cause shed parts of the plant to decay so slowly that there is little likelihood of infection to the living tree from rotting dead material around its base. All tannins act as astringents, shrinking tissues and contracting structural proteins in the skin and mucosa. Tannin-containing plants can vary a great deal in their physiological effects and should be approached individually.... tannins
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