Posted 11 March 2006 - 02:23 AM
Int J Mol Med. 2005 Aug;16(2):275-8. Related Articles, Links
Safety of quercetin for clinical application (Review).
Okamoto T.
Research Laboratories, Nippon Chemiphar Co., Ltd., 1-22 Hikokawato, Misato, Saitama 341-0005, Japan. t-okamoto@chemiphar.co.jp
Quercetin is the major flavonoid involved in vegetables and fruits. Quercetin is ingested from the daily diet, but in 1970s it was reported as mutagenic. Quercetin possesses a variety of pharmacological activities, and in order for further clinical application, it is important to evaluate its safety. In Ames test, quercetin is regarded as mutagenic. However, recent in vitro studies indicate that quercetin is protective against genotoxicants, and regarded as antimutagenic. Some in vivo studies including National Toxicology Program reported carcinogenic effect of quercetin in F344 rats. However, the method used in the study was unusual and the result was not reproduced. Most of the results of in vivo studies indicate that quercetin is not carcinogenic. Since 1969, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has undertaken a program to evaluate the carcinogenic risk of chemicals. In 1999, IARC concluded that quercetin is not classified carcinogenic to humans. In the U.S. and Europe, supplements of quercetin is commercially available, and beneficial effects of quercetin supplements were reported in clinical trials. Overall, quercetin is genotoxic to salmonella, but its safety upon human application is approved.
Publication Types:
Review
PMID: 16012761 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Mutat Res. 2005 Jul 1;574(1-2):124-38. Epub 2005 Mar 31. Related Articles, Links
Flavonoids and alkenylbenzenes: mechanisms of mutagenic action and carcinogenic risk.
Rietjens IM, Boersma MG, van der Woude H, Jeurissen SM, Schutte ME, Alink GM.
Division of Toxicology, Wageningen University, Tuinlaan 5, 6703 HE, Wageningen, The Netherlands. ivonne.rietjens@wur.nl
The present review focuses on the mechanisms of mutagenic action and the carcinogenic risk of two categories of botanical ingredients, namely the flavonoids with quercetin as an important bioactive representative, and the alkenylbenzenes, namely safrole, methyleugenol and estragole. For quercetin a metabolic pathway for activation to DNA-reactive species may include enzymatic and/or chemical oxidation of quercetin to quercetin ortho-quinone, followed by isomerisation of the ortho-quinone to quinone methides. These quinone methides are suggested to be the active alkylating DNA-reactive intermediates. Recent results have demonstrated the formation of quercetin DNA adducts in exposed cells in vitro. The question that remains to be answered is why these genotoxic characteristics of quercetin are not reflected by carcinogenicity. This might in part be related to the transient nature of quercetin quinone methide adducts, and suggests that stability and/or repair of DNA adducts may need increased attention in in vitro genotoxicity studies. Thus, in vitro mutagenicity studies should put more emphasis on the transient nature of the DNA adducts responsible for the mutagenicity in vitro, since this transient nature of the formed DNA adducts may play an essential role in whether the genotoxicity observed in vitro will have any impact in vivo. For alkenylbenzenes the ultimate electrophilic and carcinogenic metabolites are the carbocations formed upon degradation of their 1'-sulfooxy derivatives, so bioactivation of the alkenylbenzenes to their ultimate carcinogens requires the involvement of cytochromes P450 and sulfotransferases. Identification of the cytochrome P450 isoenzymes involved in bioactivation of the alkenylbenzenes identifies the groups within the population possibly at increased risk, due to life style factors or genetic polymorphisms leading to rapid metaboliser phenotypes. Furthermore, toxicokinetics for conversion of the alkenylbenzenes to their carcinogenic metabolites and kinetics for repair of the DNA adducts formed provide other important aspects that have to be taken into account in the high to low dose risk extrapolation in the risk assessment on alkenylbenzenes. Altogether the present review stresses that species differences and mechanistic data have to be taken into account and that new mechanism- and toxicokinetic-based methods and models are required for cancer risk extrapolation from high dose experimental animal data to low dose carcinogenic risks for man.
Publication Types:
Review
PMID: 15914212 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]