Rutin

Rutin is a type of flavonoid -- a phenolic compound synthesized by plants that may provide health benefits for humans.
See also :

• Flavonoids
• Quercetin

Special Precautions of Rutin

Besides foods, dietary supplements also provide rutin. However, unlike foods with rutin, dietary supplements are only safe to take with the approval of your physician. Furthermore, it is not known whether extracts or supplements providing isolated flavonoids such as rutin offer the same benefits as flavonoid-rich foods, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Foods with rutin also provide various other nutrients, such as vitamins and other phenolic compounds, that may act synergistically with rutin. For example, rutin and vitamin C, both present in citrus fruits, complement each other in that rutin assists in vitamin C absorption. Rutin is more effective in the presence of quercetin, according to AskDrMao.com.

The benefits of Rutin are

quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin), a bioflavonoid that is naturally found in many fruits, vegetables and teas including onions, apples, and citrus fruits. Rutin is an antioxidant whose free radical-scavanging effects may help prevent oxidative damage associated with diseases like cancer and heart disease, and rutin is also attributed with anti-inflammatory and blood vessel-strengthening effects. Found naturally in a variety of plants and fruits, this flavanoid has been shown to have a strong anti-inflammatory effect due to it's powerful anti-oxidant activity.Reducing your inflammation leads to changes throughout your entire body.Changes such as ... a reduction of pain... increased circulation and dozens of other health benefits which ramp up your energy!Some plant foods are especially rich sources of rutin. Rutin is chemically similar to another flavonoid, querceitin. Rutin supplements are touted as a natural remedy for a number of health conditions that affect the blood vessels, including hemorrhoids and varicose veins.

In addition, rutin is purported to prevent stroke and heart disease. Some people also use rutin to treat arthritis.

To date, research on the health effects of rutin supplements is very limited and often dated. However, some studies suggest that rutin may offer certain health benefits. Here's a look at some key study findings:

• Rutin and Chronic Venous Insufficiency : Rutin may be of some benefit to people with chronic venous insufficiency, according to a small study published in the journal Minerva Cardioangiologica in 2001. Chronic venous insufficiency is a condition in which the veins do not efficiently return blood from the legs to the heart, and is linked to health problems like varicose veins, ankle swelling, and nighttime leg cramping. For the study, 30 patients with chronic venous insufficiency were assigned to either a control group or treatment with a combination of rutin, alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E), sweet clover, and gotu kola. After 30 days, members of the treatment group showed significant improvement in symptoms (such as swelling and cramps). However, it's unknown whether rutin might be beneficial in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency when consumed on its own.
• Rutin and Varicose Veins in Pregnancy : Rutoside (a compound found in rutin) may help treat varicose veins in pregnant women, according to a 2007 report published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. In their analysis of three previously published clinical trials (including a total of 159 women), scientists determined that rutoside appears to help relieve the symptoms of varicose veins in late pregnancy. However, the review's authors note that there is not enough data to assess the safety of using rutoside during pregnancy.
• Rutin and Arthritis : Rutoside shows promise in the treatment of arthritis, suggests a 2008 study from Arthritis Research & Therapy. In tests on rats, researchers found that rutoside helped fight inflammation and, in turn, reduce clinical signs of arthritis.
• Rutin and Inflammatory Bowel Disease : Preliminary research indicates that rutin may help treat inflammatory bowel disease (such as colitis). In a study published in Life Sciences, tests on rats revealed that rutoside may help reduce colonic tissue damage caused by colitis.
• Rutin proved to be a very potently anti-thrombotic compound, as the flavonoid was shown to inhibit both platelet accumulation and fibrin generation during thrombus formation. Three to five daily servings of rutin from dietary sources or supplementing with 500 mg per day is shown to reduce platelet stickiness leading to blood clots and risk of early death from stroke and heart attack.

Food Sources

• Buckwheat : The grain buckwheat is a very rich dietary source of rutin. Buckwheat leaf flour contains about 2,700 mg/kg rutin and is thus a suitable source for enriching other foods with rutin, according to a study published by "Food Chemistry" in 2006. Buckwheat's rutin content may lend it certain health benefits. According to research published in "Phytotherapy Research" in 2009, rutin extracted from buckwheat helped treat high blood pressure in rats and reduced oxidative damage to the rats' arteries. Besides being an excellent source of rutin, buckwheat also provides other antioxidants, B-vitamins, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. While millet also contains some rutin, more common grains such as wheat and rice do not.
• Fruits and Vegetables : Various fruits and vegetables are good food sources of rutin. Citrus fruits and their rinds, cherries, apricots, green peppers and dark berries such as blueberries, blackberries and mulberries, all provide rutin. Asparagus is a particularly rich vegetable source of rutin, with levels of rutin in green asparagus shoots ranging from 0.03 to 0.06 percent, according to Rutgers State University. Apples especially their peels, have a high rutin content, while also providing other phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic acid, catechin, epicatechin and phloridzin. According to a study published in the journal "Scientia Horticulturae" in 2009, among the peels of 19 popular apple varieties analyzed for phenolic content, the peels of Starking Delicious apples contained the highest percentage of rutin and other phenolic compounds.
• Teas : Tea is another dietary source of rutin. Rooibos tea, also known as "red tea," provides rutin -- as well as other flavonoids such as quercetin, luteolin, aspalathin and several others -- and is associated with various health benefits including anti-carcinogenic and antimutagenic effects, according to phytochemicals.info. Rutin is also present in yerba maté tea, green tea and black tea. Research published in "Molecules" in 2007 concluded that yerba maté and green tea both contain high amounts of rutin and other phenolic compounds, and that both teas exhibit strong free radical-scavenging activity in laboratory tests. Green tea is also an excellent source of a class of flavonoids called catechins.