About Rutin

What Is Rutin

Rutin is a citrus flavonoid glycoside found in fruits and fruit rinds (especially citrus fruits: oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes) and berries such as mulberry and cranberries,  buckwheat  and asparagus. It is sometimes referred to as vitamin P, although it is not strictly a vitamin. Rutin is the glycoside of quercetin with the disaccharide rutinose (α-L-Rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6))-β-D-glucopyranose) attached at the 3-position.

Pharmacological properties Of Rutin

• Rutin inhibited the activation of phospholipase C, followed by inhibition of protein kinase C activity and thromboxane A(2) formation, thereby leading to inhibition of the phosphorylation of P47 and intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization, finally resulting in inhibition of platelet aggregation, as well as decreasing capillary permeability, making the blood thinner and improving circulation.
• Rutin shows anti-inflammatory activity in some animal and in vitro models. Rutin also may exert significant and potentially beneficial effect on decreasing precancerous lesions and inducing apoptosis.
• Rutin inhibits aldose reductase, an enzyme normally present in the eye and elsewhere in the body. It converts glucose into the sugar alcohol sorbitol, which is linked to formation of cataract. Inhibition of aldose reductase has also been shown to offer cardioprotection in rats.
• Rutin can reduce the cytotoxicity of oxidized LDL cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease.

Rutin, similar to quercetin, acacetin, morin, hispidulin, hesperidin, and naringin, is also an antioxidant.

Rutin  has been evaluated in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and colorectal cancer via attenuation of pro-inflammatory cytokine production.

Rutin As An Antioxidant

In a human supplementation study at The Rowett Research Institute in U.K., bioavailabilty and efficiency of rutin as an antioxidant was evaluated. 500 mg of rutin was eighteen healthy non-obese normocholesterolaemic female volunteers in the age range 18-48 years in a 6-week randomized single-blind placebo controlled trial. Rutin supplementation did not induce any adverse changes in blood chemistry or indices of liver function. Plasma flavonoids (quercetin. kaempferol and isorhamnetin) were significantly elevated in the rutin-supplemented group during the trial period but there was no significant change in plasma antioxidant status. In a similar study in Germany by Egert et al 35 volunteers were given either 50, 100 or 150 mg/day quercetin for 2 weeks and the authors concluded that plasma concentration of quercetin increased in a dose-dependent manner but did not affect antioxidant status, LDL oxidation, inflammation or metabolism.