PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED : To provide a novel process of synthesis of epicatechin in enantiomerically pure or enantiomerically enriched and/or racemic forms. SOLUTION : A process for synthesis of enantiomerically pure or enantiomerically enriched (+and/or-) epicatechin and its intermediates or racemic mixture of (+and/or-) epicatechin and its intermediates, comprising the steps of : (i) obtaining penta-protected quercetin; (ii) reducing the penta-protected quercetin obtained from step (i); (iii) optionally deprotecting the compound of step (ii); (iv) reducing the compound obtained from step (ii) or step (iii) in the presence of a chiral/achiral reducing agent to obtain a chiral intermediate; (v) deprotecting and/or hydrogenating the chiral intermediate obtained from step (iv) to obtain (-)-epicatechin; (vi) optionally simultaneously deprotecting and hydrogenating the compound obtained from step (ii) to obtain racemic epicatechin. SELECTED DRAWING : None COPYRIGHT : (C)2019, JPO&INPIT