Quercetin, a Flavonoid with Great Pharmacological Capacity
Eber Josue Carrillo-Martinez,
Flor Yohana Flores-Hernández,
Adriana María Salazar-Montes,
Hector Fabián Nario-Chaidez,
Luis Daniel Hernández-Ortega
Affiliations
Eber Josue Carrillo-Martinez
Unidad de Biotecnología Médica y Farmacéutica, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara 44270, Mexico
Flor Yohana Flores-Hernández
Unidad de Biotecnología Médica y Farmacéutica, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara 44270, Mexico
Adriana María Salazar-Montes
Instituto de Investigación en Enfermedades Crónico-Degenerativas, Centro de Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Sierra Mojada 950, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
Hector Fabián Nario-Chaidez
Sistemas y Servicios Oncológicos de Latinoamérica S.A. de C.V., Zapopan 45079, Mexico
Luis Daniel Hernández-Ortega
Centro de Investigación Multidisciplinaria en Salud, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Mexico
Quercetin is a flavonoid with a low molecular weight that belongs to the human diet’s phenolic phytochemicals and nonenergy constituents. Quercetin has a potent antioxidant capacity, being able to capture reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and reactive chlorine species (ROC), which act as reducing agents by chelating transition-metal ions. Its structure has five functional hydroxyl groups, which work as electron donors and are responsible for capturing free radicals. In addition to its antioxidant capacity, different pharmacological properties of quercetin have been described, such as carcinostatic properties; antiviral, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties; the ability to protect low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, and the ability to inhibit angiogenesis; these are developed in this review.
