Bioavailability of the dietary antioxidant flavonol quercetin in man

• Published in: Cancer letters Vol. 114; no. 1; pp. 139 - 140
• Main Authors: Hollman, Peter C.H., van Trijp, John M.P., Mengelers, Marcel J.B., de Vries, Jeanne H.M., Katan, Martijn B.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 19.03.1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Absorption; Afdeling Humane voeding; Allium - metabolism; Anticarcinogen; Anticarcinogenic Agents - blood; Antioxidants - metabolism; Bioavailability; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Availability; Carcinogenesis, carcinogens and anticarcinogens; Flavonols; Foods and miscellaneous; Fruit - metabolism; Human Nutrition; Human Nutrition & Health; Human Nutrition (HNE); Humane Voeding; Humane Voeding & Gezondheid; Humans; Medical sciences; Quercetin; Quercetin - blood; RIKILT; Time Factors; Tumors; VLAG; Wageningen Food Safety Research; Flavonols; Absorption; Bioavailability; Anticarcinogen; Quercetin; Human; Ileostomy; Onion; Gut; Antioxidant; Flavonoid; Biological activity; Blood plasma; Apple; Plant origin; Phenols; Glycoside; Kinetics; Colon; Flavone(3-hydroxy); Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0304-3835; 1872-7980
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3835(97)04644-2

Quercetin, a dietary antioxidant flavonoid, has anticarcinogenic properties. We quantified the absorption of quercetin in ileostomists. Absorption was 52 ± 5% for quercetin glucosides from onions, 17 ± 15% for quercetin rutinoside, and 24 ± 9% for quercetin aglycone. The plasma quercetin concentration in subjects with an intact colon, after ingestion of fried onions, apples and pure quercetin rutinoside, decreased slowly with elimination half-lives of about 25 h. Thus, repeated dietary intake of quercetin will lead to accumulation in plasma. The relative bioavailability of quercetin from apples and rutinoside was onethird of that from onions. Absorption kinetics and bioavailibility might be determined by the type of glycoside. Dietary quercetin could increase the antioxidant capacity of blood plasma.