Login or Register

Sources of Rutin in Food

Jun 21, 2011 | By Shannon George
Sources of Rutin in Food
Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images

Rutin is a type of flavonoid -- a phenolic compound synthesized by plants that may provide health benefits for humans. Rutin is an antioxidant whose free radical-scavanging effects may help prevent oxidative damage associated with diseases like cancer and heart disease, and rutin is also attributed with anti-inflammatory and blood vessel-strengthening effects. Some plant foods are especially rich sources of rutin. Rutin is chemically similar to another flavonoid, querceitin.

Buckwheat

The grain buckwheat is a very rich dietary source of rutin. Buckwheat leaf flour contains about 2,700 mg/kg rutin and is thus a suitable source for enriching other foods with rutin, according to a study published by "Food Chemistry" in 2006. Buckwheat's rutin content may lend it certain health benefits. According to research published in "Phytotherapy Research" in 2009, rutin extracted from buckwheat helped treat high blood pressure in rats and reduced oxidative damage to the rats' arteries. Besides being an excellent source of rutin, buckwheat also provides other antioxidants, B-vitamins, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. While millet also contains some rutin, more common grains such as wheat and rice do not.

Fruits and Vegetables

Various fruits and vegetables are good food sources of rutin. Citrus fruits and their rinds, cherries, apricots, green peppers and dark berries such as blueberries, blackberries and mulberries, all provide rutin. Asparagus is a particularly rich vegetable source of rutin, with levels of rutin in green asparagus shoots ranging from 0.03 to 0.06 percent, according to Rutgers State University. Apples especially their peels, have a high rutin content, while also providing other phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic acid, catechin, epicatechin and phloridzin. According to a study published in the journal "Scientia Horticulturae" in 2009, among the peels of 19 popular apple varieties analyzed for phenolic content, the peels of Starking Delicious apples contained the highest percentage of rutin and other phenolic compounds.

Teas

Tea is another dietary source of rutin. Rooibos tea, also known as "red tea," provides rutin -- as well as other flavonoids such as quercetin, luteolin, aspalathin and several others -- and is associated with various health benefits including anti-carcinogenic and antimutagenic effects, according to phytochemicals.info. Rutin is also present in yerba maté tea, green tea and black tea. Research published in "Molecules" in 2007 concluded that yerba maté and green tea both contain high amounts of rutin and other phenolic compounds, and that both teas exhibit strong free radical-scavenging activity in laboratory tests. Green tea is also an excellent source of a class of flavonoids called catechins.

Considerations

Besides foods, dietary supplements also provide rutin. However, unlike foods with rutin, dietary supplements are only safe to take with the approval of your physician. Furthermore, it is not known whether extracts or supplements providing isolated flavonoids such as rutin offer the same benefits as flavonoid-rich foods, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Foods with rutin also provide various other nutrients, such as vitamins and other phenolic compounds, that may act synergistically with rutin. For example, rutin and vitamin C, both present in citrus fruits, complement each other in that rutin assists in vitamin C absorption. Rutin is more effective in the presence of quercetin, according to AskDrMao.com.

References

Article reviewed by Jenna Marie Last updated on: Jun 21, 2011

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments