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Quercetin

  1. 1. Dietary Sources
  2. 2. Safety[2]
  3. 3. Healing Properties
    1. 3.1. Anti-Carcinogenic (anticancer)
      1. 3.1.1. Antiproliferative
      2. 3.1.2. Cancer chemopreventive agent
    2. 3.2. Anti-Inflammatory
    3. 3.3. Anti-Infective
    4. 3.4. Antioxidant
    5. 3.5. Brain Health
      1. 3.5.1. Neuroprotective
      2. 3.5.2. Neuroregeneration
        1. 3.5.2.1. Antioxidant
        2. 3.5.2.2. Anti-Inflammatory / Anti-Amyloid Fibrils
      3. 3.5.3. Cognitive performance
        1. 3.5.3.1. Memory Enhancer
        2. 3.5.3.2. Psychostimulant
    6. 3.6. Heart Health / Cardiovascular Health
      1. 3.6.1. Antiinflammatory
      2. 3.6.2. Anti-Atherogenic
    7. 3.7. Blood Health
    8. 3.8. Metabolism
      1. 3.8.1. Energy Production / Mitochondrial Health
  4. 4. Disease / Symptom Treatment
    1. 4.1. Cancer
    2. 4.2. Neurodegenerative Diseases
      1. 4.2.1. Neuroinflammation
      2. 4.2.2. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
      3. 4.2.3. Parkinson’s Disease
        1. 4.2.3.1. Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration
      4. 4.2.4. Cognitive Impairment
      5. 4.2.5. Ischemia
      6. 4.2.6. Traumatic injury (brain/spinal)
      7. 4.2.7. Huntington’s disease
  5. 5. Synergistic Effects
    1. 5.1. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)
      1. 5.1.1. Cell Protection (Helps prevent DNA damage)

Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is widely distributed among different fruits and vegetables.[1]

Dietary Sources

  • Pomegranate
  • Green tea
  • Red onion
  • Mango
  • Moringa oleifera
  • Blueberries
  • Chicory
  • Tomato
  • Apple
  • Passion Flower
  • White mulberry

Safety[2]

Healing Properties

Anti-Carcinogenic (anticancer)

Antiproliferative

Quercetin has demonstrated antiproliferative activity against colon and breast cancer cells.[3]

  • Treatment of quercetin had reduced the proliferation rates of colon HCT116 and breat MDA-MB-231 cancer cells.[3:1]

Cancer chemopreventive agent

Treatment with quercetin dihydrate has been shown to promote the killing activity of T cells on cancer cells.[4]

The growth rate of tumor volumes and masses treated with quercetin dihydrate were decreased.[4:1]

Anti-Inflammatory

Strong antiinflammatory activity.[1:1]

Anti-Infective

Antioxidant

Quercetin is one of the most potent antioxidants of plant origin.[1:2]

Quercetin has direct radical scavenging action.[1:3]

Brain Health

Neuroprotective

Several in-vitro studies have reported that quercetin demonstrates neuroprotection.[1:4]

Quercetin’s metabolites after absorption have all been shown to afford neuroprotection as well.[1:5]

Quercetin protects against progressive dopaminergic neurodegeneration.[1:6]

Neuroregeneration

Quesrcetin stimulates neuronal regeneration.[1:7]

Antioxidant

It has been shown to protect neurons from oxidative damage while reducing lipid peroxidation.[1:8]

Anti-Inflammatory / Anti-Amyloid Fibrils

In addition to its antioxidant properties, it inhibits the fibril formation of amyloid-β proteins, counteracting cell lyses and inflammatory cascade pathways.[1:9]

  • Suppresses neuroinflammatory processes by downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokines.[1:10]
  • Prevents the degradation of acetylcholine, and decreases Aβ production.[1:11]

Cognitive performance

Quercetin restores acetylcholine levels through the inhibition of hydrolysis of acetylcholine by AChE enzyme.[1:12]

Memory Enhancer

Quercetin and rutin have been reported to function as memory enhancers in scopolamine-induced memory impairment tests, thus possibly enhancing cholinergic neurotransmission.[1:13]

Psychostimulant

Heart Health / Cardiovascular Health

Antiinflammatory

Quercetin Attenuates Atherosclerotic Inflammation[5]

Anti-Atherogenic

Quercetin inhibits atherogenesis (hardening/narrowing of the arteries).[5:1]

Blood Health

Inhibits platelet aggregation.[1:14]

Metabolism

Energy Production / Mitochondrial Health

Quercetin protects against mitochondrial dysfunction.[1:15]

Quercetin stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis.[1:16]

  • Quercetin ameliorates mitochondrial dysfunction by restoring mitochondrial membrane potential, decreases ROS production, and restores ATP synthesis.[1:17]
  • It also increases the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a key cell regulator of energy metabolism.[1:18]

Disease / Symptom Treatment

Cancer

Quercetin dihydrate has the exciting potential to be used as a cancer chemopreventive agent. Treatment with quercetin dihydrate has been shown to promote the killing activity of T cells on cancer cells.[4:2]

The growth rate of tumor volumes and masses treated with quercetin dihydrate were decreased.[4:3]

Neurodegenerative Diseases

Quercetin Disaggregates Prion Fibrils and Decreases Fibril-Induced Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress.[6]

Neuroinflammation

Reducing the neuroinflammatory events in microglia might afford a beneficial strategy for the prevention of the progression of inflammatory-mediated neurodegenerative disorders.[1:19]

Quercetin has been reported to have anti-inflammatory actions, and is a suitable candidate among phytochemicals for future studies on its efficacy to reverse neuroinflammation.[1:20]

Quercetin has been shown to inhibit neuroinflammation by reducing nitric oxide production, iNOS gene expression in microglia, the production of inflammatory cytokines, as well as a reduction in cytokine expression as reported from in vivo studies.[1:21]

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

  • Reverses histopathological hallmarks of AD[1:22]
  • Improves motor function[1:23]
  • Reduces α-synuclein fibrillization[1:24]
  • Reduces hippocampal neuronal cell death[1:25]
  • Improves synaptic plasticity[1:26]
  • Quercetin has shown therapeutic efficacy, improving learning, memory, and cognitive functions in AD.[1:27]
  • Quercetin administration reverses extracellular β-amyloidosis and decreases tauopathies, astrogliosis, and microgliosis in the hippocampus and amygdale, thus protecting cognitive and emotional function in age triple transgenic Alzheimer’s disease model.[1:28]

Quercetin interferes with the formation of neurotoxic oligomeric Aβ species and displays fibril destabilizing effects on preformed fibrillar Aβ, reversing Aβ-induced neurotoxicity.[1:29]

Parkinson’s Disease

Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration

Quercetin protects against progressive dopaminergic neurodegeneration.[1:30]

Cognitive Impairment

Ischemia

Traumatic injury (brain/spinal)

Isoquercetin improved motor functions in acute spinal cord injury.[1:31]

Huntington’s disease

Synergistic Effects

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)

Cell Protection (Helps prevent DNA damage)

Quercetin can significantly potentiate the cell protection and rescue effects of Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+).[7]

Quercetin has been independently shown to significantly protect cells from DNA-damaging agents and induced cell death.[7:1]

The NAD+ precursors Nicotinic acid and Nicotinamide, when administered with Quercetin significantly improved cell protection and rescue effects, plausibly due to increased intracellular NAD+ levels.[7:2]

  1. Title: Neuroprotective Effects of Quercetin in Alzheimer’s Disease
    Publication: MDPI Biomolecules
    Archive: archive, archive-mirror ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Title: Safety Aspects of the Use of Quercetin as a Dietary Supplement
    Publication: Wiley Online Library: Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
    Archive ↩︎

  3. Title: Synthesis, Antiproliferative Activity and Radical Scavenging Ability of 5-O-Acyl Derivatives of Quercetin
    Publication: MDPI - Molecules
    Archive: archive, archive-mirror ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. Title: Quercetin inhibiting the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction for immune-enhancing cancer chemopreventive agent
    Publication: Wiley Online Library: Phytotherapy Research
    Archive ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. Title: Quercetin Attenuates Atherosclerotic Inflammation by Inhibiting Gal‐3‐NLRP3 Signaling Pathway
    Publication: Wiley Online Library ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. Title: Quercetin Disaggregates Prion Fibrils and Decreases Fibril-Induced Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress
    Publication: MDPI - Pharmaceutics
    Archive: archive, archive-mirror ↩︎

  7. Title: Resveratrol and Quercetin Potentiate the Cell Protection and Rescue Effects of NAD+ Precursors in HEK293 Cells Challenged by DNA Damaging Agent, N-Methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine
    Publication: Sage Journals: Natural Product Communications
    Date: September 24, 2021
    Archive ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎