Medical Uses For Rutin

Rutin is a natural bioflavonoid, listed in the US Pharmacopoeia (USP), it is extracted from fruits of the Fava D'Anta tree (Dimorphandra). These trees are native to the vast savanna areas in the North-East of Brazil.

Bioflavonoids such as Quercetin, Rutin, and Hesperidin are vital in their ability to increase the strength of the capillaries (blood vessels) and to regulate their permeability. They are essential for the proper absorption and use of vitamin C; prevent Vitamin C from being destroyed in the body by oxidation; beneficial in hypertension; helps hemorrhages and ruptures in the capillaries and connective tissues and builds a protective barrier against infections.

Flavonoids are a vast group of natural substances, but their pharmacological properties have not all been explored. The term flavonoid is used at large to designate a series of more than 4,000 molecules, which in fact can have very heterogenous molecular structures. We have shown that some flavonoids are good inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE). The most active PDE inhibitors among the flavonoids were also good inhibitors of the aggregation of human platelets in vitro. This suggests that flavonoids could serve as a template for the development of new anti-platelet drugs. However, a direct extrapolation of our experimental results to possible therapeutical use of flavonoid-containing medicinal plant extracts is not possible. The metabolic fate of these plant flavonoids is poorly understood, and their absence of toxicity has not always been clearly demonstrated. Flavonoids are also present in a regular diet in significant amounts. The role of these dietary flavonoids in the prevention of th rombotic diseases or atherosclerosis should also be investigated.

The superoxide anions scavenging activity and antioxidation of seven flavonoids--quercetin, rutin, morin, acacetin, hispidulin, hesperidin, and naringin--were studied...The scavenging activity ranked: rutin was the strongest, and quercetin and naringin the second, while morin and hispidulin were very weak.

Flavonoids are benzo-gamma-pyrone derivatives of plant origin. They possess wide spectrum of biological activity. From the therapeutical point of view the most important are their antioxidant properties. These are the result of high propensity to electron transfer, ferrous ions chelating activity and direct scavenging of reactive oxygen species. Flavonoids inhibit enormous number of enzymes. From the pharmacological point of view inhibition of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenases as well as scavenging of superoxide anions seem to be essential. Flavonoids are antiinflammatory agents as the result of diminished formation of proinflammatory mediators (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide). They are also antithrombotic owing to their ability to scavenge superoxide anions. These anions are strong inhibitors of prostacyclin production. Removal of superoxide anions by flavonoids facilitates antiaggregatory PGI2 formation. Superoxide anions generate proagregatory isoprostanes. The antiaggregatory effect of flavonoids may be due to the limitation of formation of isoprostanes. Empirical use of flavonoids as drugs acquired recently scientific confirmation.

Radioprotective effects of tea infusions and plant flavonoids were investigated by using the micronucleus test for anticlastogenic activity and the thiobarbituric acid assay for antioxidative activity...These results suggest that plant flavonoids, which show antioxidative potency in vitro, work as antioxidants in vivo and their radioprotective effects may be attributed to their scavenging potency towards free radicals such as hydroxyl radicals. Therefore, the flavonoids contained in tea, vegetables and fruits seem to be important as antioxidants in the human diet.

The polyphenol antioxidants in foods and beverages are shown to be powerful in vitro antioxidants. The polyphenols in foods and beverages enrich low density lipoproteins and decrease their oxidizability ex vivo after spiking and in vivo after absorption of the polyphenols following ingestion of beverages. These studies provide mechanisms to explain the epidemiological study which shows that consumption of fruits, vegetables and beverages reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

A high glucose concentration has been found to lead to the glycosylation of amino groups of lysine residue in proteins. The addition of reducing agent not only prevents this reaction but also reverses it. On the other hand, flavonoids which found in plant sources have antioxidant properties. Since the glycosylation of protein is an oxidation reaction, therefore, antioxidants should be able to prevent this reaction. In this study, the best concentration and time to incubate glucose with hemoglobin was investigated. Then the glycosylation degree of hemoglobin in the presence of flavonoids and their absence was measured by means of a colorimetric method. Different concentration of flavonoids (Quercetin, Rutin, Kaempferol) were used. The preventing effect on hemoglobin glycosylation by the three concentrations; 0.5, 5, 10 micrograms/ml was estimated as follows: for Rutin; 11%, 27%, 42%, Quercetin; 3%, 37%, 52%, Kaempferol; 10%, 12%, 15% respectively. So, the in vivo effect should be investigated and then plants that containing flavonoids can be utilized to prevent or treat complication of diabetes.

See also: Flavonoids

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