Talk:Quercetin

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This is on the list of IARC Carcinogens in Group 3, meaning that its carcinogenicity can't be determined in humans or that insufficient info exists on its carcinogenicity in humans. That always seemed odd to be, given how much its anticancer properties have been discussed. Does evidence exist that it is, in fact, a carcinogen? Such information should be included if it does exist and is reliable.

Quercetin has an LC50 of about 0.0001 Molar meaning to high a concentration kills normal cells. I have heard nothing about it causing cancer. I am not a formal expert in this field.

[edit] Topical Absorption using Ultrasound

The british journal said "Quercetin is a small and slightly lipophilic molecule (molecular weight=302 Da, octanol-water partition coefficient, Ko/w~1.2±0.13 (Brown et al, 1998)) and is expected to diffuse across cell membranes at a high rate."

It appears that the ultrasound doesn't increase absorption (in this case) but that something else is involved. The article suggest something about a cellular stress response. We need a source on the statement about ultrasound increasing the absorption. Unless someone convinces me otherwise, in the future I might edit this article.

If you are going to include what quercetin and ultrasound do, it needs to mention what ultrasound does alone (or with other substances)(i.e. the control)...it's analogous to saying that peppermint + cisplatin has a strong effect against certain tumors...anything + cisplatin will have a strong effect on those tumors. That doesn't demonstrate that the "anything" here has had any effect. If ultrasound alone has no effect, it should be mentioned. (Also, the definition is too generic...I don't know anything about quercetin, so I don't know what's special about it, but whatever is, perhaps it should follow "Quercetin is a flavinoid that..." Mauvila (talk) 20:46, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] FRS Healthy Energy

There's a new product - FRS Healthy Energy - where the main ingredient is Quercetin. It is meant to boost energy (naturally). Any opinions? I'm always a bit skeptical about products like this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.187.71.27 (talk) 11:44, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Skepticism is a good thing. While quercetin (250-325mg) is the main ingredient in FRS, it also contains many other ingredients. So, the effects of the product cannot be entirely attributed to quercetin. However, their claim that the FRS products can act as antidepressants may have some legitimacy, related to the quercetin content. This would be assuming that you're consuming other xenobiotics which have antidepressant properties. (These are metabolized by cytochrome P3A4, which metabolizes many different drugs.) Such xenobiotics may be present in FRS products. As for increased energy and such - FRS products contain caffeine and ginseng extracts (the same two ingredients found in the vast majority of energy drinks). So, overall... I wouldn't waste your money on this product - from what I've seen, it's exorbitantly expensive. You could, however, purchase quercetin itself for a reasonably low price, and see if it has any effect on its own. But as I've said, if you're taking any other drugs, use quercetin with caution or avoid it entirely. Fuzzform (talk) 17:42, 22 March 2008 (UTC)