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Question:
What is quercetin?
Answer:
Quercetin is a flavonoid that serves as the backbone for many other flavonoids including the citrus flavonoids rutin and hesperidin. These derivatives differ from quercetin in that they have sugar molecules attached to the quercetin backbone. Quercetin is consistently the most active of the flavonoids in experimental studies and many medicinal plants owe much of their activity to their high quercetin.
Naturopathic physicians often prescribe quercetin in the treatment of allergic and inflammatory conditions like asthma, eczema, and rheumatoid arthritis. Although there is little human research with quercetin, experimental studies indicate that quercetin has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity due to direct inhibition of several of the initial processes of inflammation. For example, it inhibits the both the manufacture and release of histamine and other allergic/inflammatory mediators. In addition it exerts potent antioxidant activity and vitamin C-sparing action.
The usual recommended dosage range for quercetin is 200 to 400 mg 20 minutes before meals (three times per day).
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