The rheology of solutions of extracts from the bark of Pinus radiata was investigated in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEGs) of different molecular weights. PEG with a molecular weight of 4600 (1% w/w) was sufficient to reduce the viscosity of a concentrated (40% w/w) pine tannin extract by one order of magnitude. The reduction of the viscosity was due to the inhibition of molecular association via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions between tannin and PEG and depended on the molecular weight of PEG. PEG effectively reduced the viscosity of polyphenolic tannins but retained high reactivity toward para formaldehyde for adhesive formulations. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.