Proanthocyanidins (PCs), which is widely distributed in plants, is a kind of valuable natural products. The constituents, structures, chemical properties and physiological activities of PCs have been systemically investigated in recent 20 years. It has been revealed that the PCs has multiple biological activities, such as anti-oxidation, scavenging of free radicals, inhibiting of enzymes, protecting of blood vessel, anti inflammation and repressing of tumors, and can be extensively utilized in food, cosmetic, health product and medicine industries. In this paper, the chemical principals for utilization of PCs and the progress on research and utilization of PCs were summarized and discussed based on literatures and the authors’ researches.
