Is Quercetin a Miracle Cure? Sounds Too Good to Be True

Quercetin, a substance commonly found in certain fruits and vegetables, kills malignant cells and infections, suppresses allergies, heals wounds quickly, and protects against cardiovascular conditions (heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure).

For years it has been widely recognized that people who drink daily moderate amounts of red wine tend to live longer, healthier lives. Why? The component responsible is called quercetin (pronounced Kwair' suh tenn). Quercetin happens to be abundant in dark grapes (as well as many other fruits and vegetables). It is a potent antioxidant (protects against cancer and infections), rich with flavonoids (also called "bioflavonoid"), a substance that helps to boost the body's immune system, reducing our risk of malignancies, viral and bacterial infections, and fungus. Quercetin absorption is enhanced by combining it with bromelain, an enzyme extracted from pineapples which has been proven to improve the digestion of nutrients.

Using the Google.com search engine, one can enter the following three words into the search box, "quercetin cancer research" (without the quotes), resulting in over 90,000 web sites citing research and studies of quercetin relating to its ability to either kill malignant cells, inhibit cancerous cells from metasticizing, or help reduce cancer risk.

Study results regarding quercetin and leukemia have been promising. Quercetin successfully destroyed human leukemia cells in a study published by Drs. Chen and Kang in November, 2005 (Pharmazie, Vol. 60, No. 11. (November 2005), pp. 856-860).

Quercetin helps to boost the body's immune system against viral and bacterial infections. Results published by the American Journal of Physiology conclude that quercetin reduces susceptibility to influenza.

And if that's not enough, quercetin can also be used to fight allergies. Quercetin suppresses the body's response to allergens by inhibiting the release of histamines (a chemical in the body that causes allergic reactions) and inflammaton, according to Wikipedia.

Sounding miraculous? Another addition to the list of quercetin's amazing features is its ability to fight inflammation. The same chemical reaction that causes quercetin to block the release of histamines also helps it to reduce inflammation.

And there's more. Quercetin may be useful in treating cardiovascular diseases, according to The American Society for Pharmacology, based upon research performed at the University of Tokushima School of Medicine in Japan in 2001. Shockingly, 1 out of every 2.8 deaths in the United States is caused by cardiovascular disease (heart conditions, stroke, high blood pressure), according to the American Heart Association statistics published in 2005.

And the best part of all... quercetin is available as a supplement from many herbal resellers and is relatively inexpensive (about eight dollars for a one-month supply from ArborCounty.com).

In conclusion, is quercetin a miracle cure? It really does sound too good to be true; however, many are sharing the hope that quercetin could turn out to be the miracle health breakthrough we've been waiting for.

Resources:

Nutrition Journal 2005, 4:11, doi:10.aa86/1475-2891-4-11, published March 4, 2005

Clinical Pharmacokinet. 2003;42(5):437-59

Heinicke RM, et al, "Effect of bromelain on clin laboratory tests after oral administration, Jpn Heart J. 1971, 12(6):517-527.

James JM, Sixbey JP, Helm RM, Bannon GA, Burks AW. Wheat alpha amylase inhibitor: A second route of allergic sensitizations. J Allergy Clinic Immunology, 1997; 99:239-234.

Lozoya X, Meckes M., Abou-Zaid M, Tortoriello J, Nozzolillo C, Arnason JT. Quercetin glycosides in Psidium guajava L. leaves, and determination of a spasmolytic principle. Arch. Medical Research Spring 1994; 25(1):11-15.

Skaper S.D., Fabris M., Ferrari V., Carbonare M.D. and Leon A; "Quercetin protects cutaneous tissue-associated cell types including sensory neurons from oxidative stress induced by glutathione depletion: cooperative effects of ascorbic acid." Fr Rad. Biological Medicine 1997; 22(4):669-678.

Williamson G, Plumb G.W., Uda Y., Price K.R. and Rhodes M.J. Dietary quercetin glycosides: antioxidant activity and induction of the anticarcinogenic phase II marker enzyme quinone reductase in HepaIcIc7 cells. Carcinogensis, pub 1996; 17(11):2385-2387.

Pharmazie, Vol 60, No. 11. (November 2005), pp. 856-860. Drs. J. Chen and J.H. Kang: "Quercetin and trichostatin A cooperatively kill human leukemia cells."

American Journal of Physiology Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol., Vol. 295, No. 2. (1 August 2008), pp. R505-509.

American Clinical Journal of Nutrition, March 2007

The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2001: Quercetin Inhibits Shc- and Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Mediated c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Activation by Angiotensin II

The American Heart Association, death statistics:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4478

http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/60/4/656