Quercetin...the Queen of Antioxidants!

What is Quercetin?

Quercetin is a plant polyphenol from group of flavonoids, specifically is a flavonol. Its name has been used since 1857, and is derived from quercetum (oak forest). It has a bitter flavor and it's used for supplement, beveraged or foods.

Properties

Quercetin it is well known for its antioxidant activity due to its ability to scavenge free radicals. It consider to be the most potent scavenger of ROS. These properties make quercetin a good lipid peroxidation inhibitor, this type of peroxidation can create deleterious effects throughout the body, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, quercetin does not only stop the propagation of lipid peroxidation, but also increases glutathione levels.

By scavenging free radicals quercetin can also reduce inflammation, and protect cells suffering oxidative stress.

What is so special about it?

According to Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) three structural features are essential for antioxidant activity in flavonoid compounds:

the catechol group (3', 4'-OH) in B ring

the C2=C3 double bond in the C-ring, that enables the conjugation of the B-ring to the 4-oxo group

the 3-and 5-OH groups together with the 4-oxo group

The second strutural feature is the characteristic of flavones and flavonols and all these three are describing the structure of quercetin.

That's why quercetin have the optimal configuration for free radical scavenging.

Basic structure of flavonoid compounds

Where can you find Quercetin?
Cappers, lovage leaves, appricot, blueberries, bog whortleberries, celery, cherries, cocoa powder, cranberries, Greek greens pie, onions, serano peppers, spinach, red grapes, tea and others.

References: Manjinder Singh (2014) ~ Gabriele D'Andrea (2015) ~ wikipedia.com ~ quercetin.com

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