You’ve heard the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Today, researchers in the field of antioxidants are beginning to explain why this old adage is more scientifically true than we may have thought. Apples, as well as many other colorful fruits and vegetables, contain a rich amount of a particularly powerful antioxidant called quercetin.
Quercetin is a flavonol type of flavonoid, found in plants, known for its potent antioxidant activity.1 Although quercetin is commonly found in many of the foods included in a healthy diet, supplements are usually needed for therapeutic dosages of this antioxidant.2 Known for its naturally occurring anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory effects, studies report that this powerful phytochemical works hard to prevent or help alleviate the symptoms of a variety of conditions.
Quercetin, like resveratrol, is also considered a potent xeno factor, a compound that can activate our “survival” genes when ingested. When the body is under stress, these genes produce enzymes that maintain cellular stability and promote longevity. 1
As a flavonoid, quercetin is suspected to work in the following three ways:2
Quercetin may also inhibit the enzyme that the HIV virus needs to replicate itself (protease).
Recent in vitro studies in 2005 and 2006 suggest that the way quercetin inhibits cancer cell proliferation is by causing cell death and/or stopping the cells from growing at some point in the cellular reproductive cycle.3
There is a large body of scientific evidence showing that the quercetin clearly has extremely potent antioxidant properties, as well as important cancer-fighting capabilities. Most information regarding quercetin is based upon in vitro and animal studies, but certainly suggests the potential for human benefits.
The problem is that in vitro effects of quercetin on cells may not be representative of their effects within the human body. Why? Because the form it naturally occurs in, as a glycoside, cannot be broken down and absorbed by the body’s enzymes, and instead is metabolized (hydrolyzed) by bacteria in the intestinal tract.4 However, the metabolites are still believed to maintain a weaker version of the positive effects the original glycoside form displayed in vitro.5
Tests have demonstrated that quercetin can maintain bioavailability longer in vivo longer when fused with sugar molecules.6
For example, blood plasma levels of quercetin were notably higher after consuming fried onions, which fuses sugar molecules to quercetin (quercetin 3-glucose) then after consuming quercetin glycoside (pure quercetin) by itself. The form of quercetin when consumed thus seems to influence its rates of absorption.6,7
The antioxidant quercetin is responsible for that lovely red glow in your apple skin. It is also present in many forms of fruits and grains. Here is a list of foods that have relatively high levels of quercetin11:
mg/100 g. | |
---|---|
Ancho peppers | 27.60 |
Apple sauce, unsweetened | 2.00 |
Apple, raw w/o skin | 1.50 |
Apple, raw with skin | 4.42 |
Apricot, raw | 2.55 |
Bilberries, raw | 3.04 |
Black grapes | 2.54 |
Blueberries, frozen | 3.93 |
Blueberries, raw | 3.11 |
Bog whortleberries, wild frozen | 17.70 |
Broccoli, cooked | 1.06 |
Broccoli, raw | 3.21 |
Buckwheat | 23.09 |
Buckwheat flour, whole groat | 2.72 |
Butterhead lettuce | 1.19 |
Capers, canned | 180.77 |
Celery, raw | 3.50 |
Cherries, raw | 1.25 |
Cherries, sweet canned | 3.20 |
Cherry tomatoes, raw | 2.77 |
Chives, raw | 4.77 |
Chokeberries, frozen | 8.90 |
Cocoa powder, dry, unsweetened | 20.13 |
Coriander, raw | 5.00 |
Corn poppy leaves | 26.30 |
Cowberries, raw | 21.00 |
Cranberries, raw | 14.02 |
Cranberry juice, raw | 16.41 |
Dill weed, fresh | 55.15 |
Dock leaves, raw | 86.20 |
European black currants, raw | 5.69 |
Greek greens pie | 12.40 |
Green beans, canned | 1.49 |
Green beans, raw | 2.73 |
Hot green chili peppers, raw | 16.80 |
Hot wax yellow peppers, raw | 50.63 |
Iceberg lettuce | 2.47 |
Jalapeno, raw | 5.07 |
Kale, canned | 4.50 |
Kale, raw | 7.71 |
Lemons, raw w/o peel | 2.29 |
Lingonberries, raw | 12.16 |
Lingonberry juice | 1.02 |
Looseleaf lettuce | 1.95 |
Lovage leaves, raw | 170.00 |
Marinara sauce | 0.91 |
Onions, boiled | 19.36 |
Plums, raw | 1.20 |
Queen Anne’s Lace leaves, raw | 1.10 |
Red currants, raw | 0.95 |
Red grapes | 3.54 |
Red onion, raw | 19.93 |
Rowanberries, frozen | 7.40 |
Serrano peppers, raw | 15.98 |
Spinach, raw | 4.86 |
Spring onions, raw | 14.24 |
Sweet potato leaves, raw | 20.54 |
Tarragon, fresh | 10.00 |
Tea, black brewed | 2.07 |
Tea, decaf brewed | 2.84 |
Tea, decaf green brewed | 2.77 |
Tea, green brewed | 2.69 |
Tomato juice, canned | 1.46 |
Tomato puree, canned | 4.12 |
Watercress, raw | 4.00 |
White currants, raw | 1.95 |
White sweet onion, raw | 5.19 |
Yellow snap beans, raw | 3.03 |
You may want to consider organically grown versions of fruits and vegetables when looking to maximize your quercetin intake. A recent study found that tomatoes which had been organically grown had more quercetin than their conventionally grown counterparts, although green peppers had no difference in quercetin levels.12
Although some DNA damage has been noted in high-dosage quercetin lab studies (in vitro), these genotoxic effects were not observed when tested in vivo on rats and mice.13 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center notes that no adverse effects in humans have been reported taking doses up to 4 grams orally.14
Some precautions: