Quantification of quercetin glycosides in 6 onion cultivars and comparisons of hydrolysis-HPLC and spectrophotometric methods in measuring total quercetin concentrations

Polyphenols as adjunctive treatments in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders: Efficacy, mechanisms of action, and factors influencing inter-individual response

The pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders is complex and multifactorial. Polyphenols possess a range of potentially beneficial mechanisms of action that relate to the implicated pathways in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The aim of this review is to highlight the emerging clinical trial and preclinical efficacy data regarding the role of polyphenols in mental and brain health, elucidate novel mechanisms of action including the gut microbiome and gene expression, and discuss the factors that may be responsible for the mixed clinical results; namely, the role of interindividual differences in treatment response and the potentially pro-oxidant effects of some polyphenols. Further clarification as part of larger, well conducted randomized controlled trials that incorporate precision medicine methods are required to inform clinical efficacy and optimal dosing regimens.

Comparative Metabolomics Profiling of Polyphenols, Nutrients and Antioxidant Activities of Two Red Onion (Allium cepa L.) Cultivars

Onion is among the most widely cultivated and consumed economic crops. Onions are an excellent dietary source of polyphenols and nutrients. However, onions phytonutrient compositions vary with cultivars and growing locations. Therefore, the present study involved the evaluation of polyphenol, nutritional composition (proteins, nitrogen, and minerals), sugars, pyruvate, antioxidant, and α-amylase inhibition activities of red onion cultivars, sweet Italian, and honeysuckle grown in California and Texas, respectively. The total flavonoid for honeysuckle and sweet Italian was 449 and 345 μg/g FW, respectively. The total anthocyanin for honeysuckle onion was 103 μg/g FW, while for sweet Italian onion was 86 μg/g FW. Cyanidin-3-(6”-malonoylglucoside) and cyanidin-3-(6”-malonoyl-laminaribioside) were the major components in both the cultivars. The pungency of red onions in honeysuckle ranged between 4.9 and 7.9 μmoL/mL, whereas in sweet Italian onion ranged from 8.3 to 10 μmoL/mL. The principal component analysis was applied to determine the most important variables that separate the cultivars of red onion. Overall results indicated that total flavonoids, total phenolic content, total anthocyanins, protein, and calories for honeysuckle onions were higher than the sweet Italian onions. These results could provide information about high quality and adding value to functional food due to the phytochemicals and nutritional composition of red onions.

Polyphenols as Possible Agents for Pancreatic Diseases

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is very aggressive and it is estimated that it kills nearly 50% of patients within the first six months. The lack of symptoms specific to this disease prevents early diagnosis and treatment. Today, gemcitabine alone or in combination with other cytostatic agents such as cisplatin (Cis), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, capecitabine, or oxaliplatin (Oxa) is used in conventional therapy. Outgoing literature provides data on the use of polyphenols, biologically active compounds, in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and the prevention of acute pancreatitis. Therefore, the first part of this review gives a brief overview of the state of pancreatic disease as well as the procedures for its treatment. The second part provides a detailed overview of the research regarding the anticancer effects of both pure polyphenols and their plant extracts. The results regarding the antiproliferative, antimetastatic, as well as inhibitory effects of polyphenols against PC cell lines as well as the prevention of acute pancreatitis are presented in detail. Finally, particular emphasis is given to the polyphenolic profiles of apples, berries, cherries, sour cherries, and grapes, given the fact that these fruits are rich in polyphenols and anthocyanins. Polyphenolic profiles, the content of individual polyphenols, and their relationships are discussed. Based on this, significant data can be obtained regarding the amount of fruit that should be consumed daily to achieve a therapeutic effect.

Quercetin spectrofluorometric quantification in aqueous media using different surfactants as fluorescence promoters

Quercetin spectrofluorometric quantification was carried out in aqueous media (pH 7) using micelles of surfactants, namely: CTAB, SDS and TX100 as promoters of quercetin fluorescence, having a critical micelle concentration, CMC, of: 0.94 ± 0.03, 7.7 ± 0.6 and 0.18 ± 0.3 mM, respectively, measured through UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The thermodynamic binding constant, K, for the quercetin-surfactants' micelles supramolecular complex was estimated to be (log(K/M⁻¹)) = 2.87 ± 0.02, 2.78 ± 0.04 and 2.80 ± 0.04, respectively, from fluorescence spectrophotometry. With the aid of these parameters it was possible to construct species distribution diagrams and choose the experimental conditions where quercetin can be quantified in aqueous media from fluorescence measurements. The best lowest limit of detection (0.244 ± 0.092) μM was achieved with CTAB micelles while the best sensitivity (2.919 ± 0.054) M⁻¹ corresponded to SDS.

Quercetin spectrofluorometric quantification was carried out in aqueous media using micelles of surfactants, namely: CTAB, SDS and TX100 as promoters of quercetin fluorescence and stability.

Bioavailability of Quercetin

Quercetin is generally present as quercetin glycoside in nature and involves quercetin aglycone conjugated to sugar moieties such as glucose or rutinose. Quercetin has been reported to exhibit antioxidative, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-aggregatory and vasodilating effects. Unfortunately, quercetin bioavailability is generally poor and several factors affect its bioavailability. Quercetin bioavailability varies widely between individuals. Gender may affect quercetin bioavailability, but there is no clear evidence. There has been little research looking for the effects of age and vitamin C status on bioavailability of quercetin supplements, but there is no research seeking out the effects of age and vitamin C status on bioavailability of food-derived quercetin. Presence of sugar moieties increases bioavailability and differences in quercetin-conjugated glycosides affect bioavailability. For instance, onion-derived quercetin, which is mainly quercetin glucoside, is more bioavailable than apple-derived quercetin, which contains quercetin rhamnoside and quercetin galactoside. Quercetin is lipophilic compound, thus dietary fat enhances its bioavailability. Nondigestible fiber may also improve quercetin bioavailability. Quercetin bioavailability is greater when it is consumed as an integral food component. This study reviews and discusses factors affecting quercetin bioavailability.

Variation of quercetin glycoside derivatives in three onion (Allium cepa L.) varieties

The aim of this study was to quantify the contents of individual quercetin glycosides in red, yellow and chartreuse onion by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Acid hydrolysis of individual quercetin glycosides using 6 M hydrochloric acid guided to identify and separate quercetin 7,4′-diglucoside, quercetin 3-glucoside, quercetin 4′-glucoside, and quercetin. The contents of total quercetin glycosides varied extensively among three varieties (ranged from 16.10 to 103.93 mg/g DW). Quercetin was the predominant compound that accounted mean 32.21 mg/g DW in red onion (43.6% of the total) and 127.92 mg/g DW in chartreuse onion (78.3% of the total) followed by quercetin 3-glucoside (28.83 and 24.16 mg/g DW) respectively. Quercetin 3-glucoside levels were much higher in yellow onion (43.85 mg/g DW) followed by quercetin 30.08 mg/g DW. Quercetin 4′-glucoside documented the lowest amount that documented mean 2.4% of the total glycosides. The varied contents of glycosides present in the different onion varieties were significant.

Endogenous and exogenous mediators of quercetin bioavailability

Quercetin is a dietary flavonol that has poor and highly variable bioavailability. Epidemiological studies suggest that higher dietary intakes of quercetin decease cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, experimental findings examining its cardioprotective activities are inconsistent, thereby precluding a full understanding of its health benefits. Bioavailability of dietary constituents is a critical mediator of their health benefits. Thus, a better understanding of the factors regulating quercetin bioavailability is expected to support its potential role in managing CVD risk. This review provides an update on the evidence describing endogenous and exogenous factors responsible for the limited and highly variable bioavailability of quercetin. It focuses on pharmacokinetics studies in clinical and animal models, while also describing strategies aimed at improving quercetin bioavailability to better realize its cardioprotective activities in vivo that are routinely observed in vitro. Although significant advances have been made in understanding determinants of quercetin bioavailability, additional research in controlled trials is needed to more comprehensively examine dose-response effects, whether its cardioprotective activities improve in response to its greater bioavailability, and if the putative health benefits of quercetin are mediated directly or indirectly from one or more of its metabolites generated during xenobiotic metabolism.

Increasing the added-value of onions as a source of antioxidant flavonoids: a critical review

Flavonoids are a large and diverse group of polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant effects. While the flavonoid content and composition profile clearly reflect the genetic background of the cultivar, environmental conditions and agronomic practices are also determinants for the composition of crops at harvest. Considerable research has been directed toward understanding the nature of polyphenols in different products and the factors influencing their accumulation. This review examines the flavonoids as a class of compounds, the role these compounds play in the plant, their contributions to product quality, and recent research on the impacts of environmental factors and cultural practices on flavonoid content in onions, highlighting how this knowledge may be used to modulate their polyphenolic composition at harvest or during post-harvest handling.

Determination of quercetins in onion (Allium cepa) using infrared spectroscopy

The rapid quantification of flavonoid compounds in onions by attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis was evaluated as a possible alternative to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Quercetin content in onion varieties (yellow, red, and sweet) was quantified using ATR FT-IR (4000 to 400 cm⁻¹) spectroscopy and HPLC methods. Quercetin-3,4'-O-diglucoside (3,4'-Qdg) and quercetin-4'-O-glucoside (4'-Qmg) comprised >80% of the total flavonol content detected in the studied varieties. The quercetin compounds (3,4'-Qdg and 4'-Qmg) and total flavonol conjugates were quantified by HPLC, and results correlated closely with ATR-IR values (R > 0.95). Cross-validated (leave-one-out) partial least-squares regression (PLSR) models successfully predicted concentrations of these quercetins. The standard errors of cross-validation (SECV) of 3,4'-Qdg and 4'-Qmg, total quercetin, and total flavonol contents of onions were 20.43, 21.18, and 21.02 mg/kg fresh weight, respectively. In addition, supervised and unsupervised segregation analyses (principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis, and soft independent modeling of class analogue) were performed to classify onion varieties on the basis of unique infrared spectral features. There was a high degree of segregation (interclass distances > 3.0) for the different types of onion. This study indicated that the IR technique could predict 3,4'-Qdg, 4'-Qmg, total quercetin, and total flavonol contents and has advantages over the traditional HPLC method in providing a valid, efficient, and cost-effective method requiring less sample preparation for the quantification of quercetins in onion.

Isolation and Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan assay of flavonoids from onion

The main flavonoids were isolated from three selected onion cultivars. Three phenolic compounds were obtained by reverse-phase HPLC, and their structures were elucidated by multiple NMR measurements. There were two known compounds, quercetin and quercetin 3'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (Q3'G), and one novel compound, quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside-(4→1)-β-d-glucopyranoside (Q3M), which was identified in onion for the first time. These flavonoids were found to be more abundant in the onion peel than in the flesh or core. Their antioxidative activities were tested using the DPPH method, and their antiaging activities were evaluated using a Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan assay. No direct correlation was found between antioxidative activity and antiaging activity. Quercetin showed the highest antioxidative activity, whereas Q3M showed the strongest antiaging activity among these flavonoids, which might be related to its high hydrophilicity.