What Are The Benefits Of Taking Quercetin?

Quercetin is a naturally occurring plant compound found in red wine, tea, onions, kale, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, apples and berries. Quercetin is also sold as a dietary supplement in pill and capsule form for a variety of health-promoting purposes. As with any supplement, you should talk to your health care practitioner before attempting to self-medicate with quercetin.

Properties

Quercetin belongs to a group of plant pigments called flavonoids. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, quercetin is a potent antioxidant that scavenges free radicals in your body and thereby prevents them from damaging your cells and DNA. Quercetin also has immune-stimulating, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-cancer and cardioprotective properties.

Uses

Alternative medicine practitioners use quercetin to promote cardiovascular health and help prevent and treat atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and vascular insufficiency, states "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database." People also use quercetin to prevent cancer, increase exercise endurance and improve athletic performance. In addition, quercetin is used to help treat asthma, diabetes, cataracts, allergic rhinitis, peptic ulcers, schizophrenia, viral infections, chronic fatigue syndrome and bacterial prostatitis. Due to quercetin's anti-inflammatory properties, it is also used to help treat a variety of arthritic conditions, including gout and rheumatoid arthritis. However, many of these uses are based on anecdotal reports and not scientific evidence.

Chronic Prostatitis

Chronic prostatitis is a painful pelvic condition in men that is not caused by bacteria. The December 1999 edition of "Urology" journal, examined the effects of 500 mg of quercetin, taken twice daily, in thirty men with chronic prostatitis. After the one-month, placebo-controlled study was over, 67 percent of the men taking the quercetin reported a measurable improvement in symptoms, without any adverse effects.

Allergies

Allergies are caused when your immune system mistakenly identifies an innocuous substance as harmful and launches an attack against it. During this process, the neurotransmitter histamine is released, which causes inflammation and other allergy symptoms. UMM states that test tube studies found that quercetin prevents immune cells from releasing histamine, and quercetin may therefore help to reduce allergy symptoms such as runny nose, watery eyes, hives and swelling of the face and lips. As of 2011, there have been no studies done on humans to confirm the efficacy of quercetin for allergy reduction purposes.

Considerations

The generally recommended dose of quercetin is between 300 mg and 500 mg, twice daily. Quercetin supplements may cause headaches, upset stomach and tingling of the extremities. Quercetin may also interact with certain medications including anticoagulant, chemotherapy and corticosteroid drugs.