Quercetin

Quercitin is a bioflavonoid that is widespread in fruits, vegetables, leaves and grains. It is also found in teas and wine. Quercetin is commercially extracted from several plants including the Brazilian Faviera tree (Dimorphandramollis). The Faviera seed pods are extracted to produce rutin, another flavonoid, which is hydrolyzed to form raw quercetin. The material is then dissolved, filtered, crystallized, and dried to a pure powdered form.

Health Benefits

Quercetin may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.1-3 There have been emerging evidences that quercetin supplements may help improve blood lipid profiles and lower blood pressure, suggesting cardioprotective effects of quercetin.4-7 In Japanese subjects with osteoarthritis, quercetin supplement in conjunction with glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulfate improved the intensity of arthritic symptoms and daily activities.8,9

References

  1. Zhang M, Swarts SG, Yin L, Liu C, Tian Y, Cao Y, Swarts M, Yang S, Zhang SB, Zhang K, Ju S, Olek DJ Jr, Schwartz L, Keng PC, Howell R, Zhang L, Okunieff P. Antioxidant properties of quercetin. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2011;701:283-9. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-7756-4_38. PubMed PMID: 21445799.
  2. Boots AW, Haenen GR, Bast A. Health effects of quercetin: from antioxidant to nutraceutical. Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 May 13;585(2-3):325-37. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar. 03.008. Epub 2008 Mar 18. Review. PubMed PMID: 18417116.
  3. Boots AW, Drent M, de Boer VC, Bast A, Haenen GR. Quercetin reduces markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in sarcoidosis. Clin Nutr. 2011 Aug;30(4):506-12. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2011.01.010. Epub 2011 Feb PubMed PMID: 21324570.
  4. Talirevic E, Jelena S. Quercetin in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Med Arh. 2012;66(2):87-8. PubMed PMID: 22486135.
  5. Edwards RL, Lyon T, Litwin SE, Rabovsky A, Symons JD, Jalili T. Quercetin reduces blood pressure in hypertensive subjects. J Nutr. 2007 Nov;137(11):2405-11. PubMed PMID: 17951477.
  6. Larson A, Witman MA, Guo Y, Ives S, Richardson RS, Bruno RS, Jalili T, Symons Acute, quercetin-induced reductions in blood pressure in hypertensive individuals are not secondary to lower plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme activity or endothelin-1: nitric oxide. Nutr Res. 2012 Aug;32(8):557-64. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2012.06.018. Epub 2012 Aug 16. PubMed PMID: 22935338.
  7. Pfeuffer M, Auinger A, Bley U, Kraus-Stojanowic I, Laue C, Winkler P, Rüfer CE, Frank J, Bösch-Saadatmandi C, Rimbach G, Schrezenmeir J. Effect of quercetin on traits of the metabolic syndrome, endothelial function and inflammation in men with different APOE isoforms. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2013 May;23(5):403-9. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd. 08.010. Epub 2011 Nov 25. PubMed PMID: 22118955.
  8. Kanzaki N, Saito K, Maeda A, Kitagawa Y, Kiso Y, Watanabe K, Tomonaga A, Nagaoka I, Yamaguchi H. Effect of a dietary supplement containing glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate and quercetin glycosides on symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Sci Food 2012 Mar 15;92(4):862-9. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.4660. Epub 2011 Oct 3. PubMed PMID: 21969261.
  9. Matsuno H, Nakamura H, Katayama K, Hayashi S, Kano S, Yudoh K, Kiso Y. Effects of an oral administration of glucosamine-chondroitin-quercetin glucoside on the synovial fluid properties in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Feb;73(2):288-92. Epub 2009 Feb 7.PubMed PMID: 19202302.