Querquetin, a natural plant flavonoid found in capers and green tea, is being eyed by some as a potential adjunct therapy for patients with COVID-19 recently, but whether quercetin will stand the test of rigorous trials remains unclear. But those supplements suppliers say it could be one part of a treatment regimen along with interventions like remdesivir or convalescent plasma, and that its over-the-counter availability and relatively good safety profile serve as advantages.
While we can hear what is the scientists says about quercetin:
Antiviral, Antioxidant Mechanisms
Quercetin has long been evaluated for its potential protective effects against cancers, heart disease, and cells that release histamines.
The agent promotes SIRT2, which then inhibits the NLRP3 inflammasome assembly involved with COVID-19 infection, said Samuel F. Yanuck, DC, of the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine, who co-authored a review of emerging research on the subject. It also plays a role in facilitating zinc transportation across lipid membranes, “It’s not a bizarre or experimental substance and given it has these potential important biological roles, I think it’s worth being considered as part of an overall strategy.
Using this rationale, researchers are postulating that vitamin C should be administered with quercetin because it can recycle oxidized quercetin, producing a synergistic effect and enhancing quercetin’s antiviral capability, Biancatelli added.
Ruben Colunga Biancatelli, MD, of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and first author of a paper on quercetin and vitamin C as a potential therapy for treating SARS-CoV-2 in Frontiers in Immunology.