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| Substance In Fruits And Vegetables Seen As Potential Flu Remedy |
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| Living - Health & Fitness | |||
| TS-Si News Service | |||
| Friday, 05 September 2008 16:30 | |||
Bethesda, MD, USA. Scientists have demonstrated that quercetin, a naturally occurring substance found in fruits and vegetables, can render subjects less likely to contract the flu. According to a new study using the mouse model orgnism, the findings also indicate that stressful exercise corresponded to increased susceptibility to the flu, but quercetin canceled out negative effects.
Quercetin is present in a variety of fruits and vegetables, including red onions, grapes, blueberries, tea, broccoli and red wine. It has been shown to have anti-viral properties in cell culture experiments and some animal studies, but none of these studies has looked specifically at the flu. The substance is a close chemical relative of resveratrol, a phytochemical produced by plants that exhibits a number of beneficial health effects.
Quercetin reduces susceptibility to influenza infection following stressful exercise. J. M. Davis, E. A. Murphy, J. L. McClellan, M. D. Carmichael, and J. D. Gangemi. AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology 295(2) R505. doi: 10.1152 / ajpregu.90319.2008
J. Mark Davis and his colleagues at the University of South Carolina and Clemson University carried out the study. [N1-2] The findings appear in the American Journal of Physiology (AJP) Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. [C1, N3]
The new study was conducted using mice, but if quercetin provides a similar benefit for humans, it could help endurance athletes, soldiers and others undergoing difficult training regimens, as well as people under psychological stress, according to Davis.
 "Quercetin was used because of its documented widespread health benefits, which include antiviral activity, abundance in the diet and reported lack of side effects when used as a dietary supplement or food additive," Davis said.
Earlier mouse studies have found that stressful exercise can increase susceptibility to upper respiratory infections, although it is not yet clear if the same is true for humans. There was also preliminary information that mice may be more susceptible to the flu when they exercise to fatigue. The researchers in the current study hypothesized that exercise would increase the chance of the mice getting the flu but that quercetin would counteract the increased risk.
Davis and his colleagues examined four groups of mice. Two groups performed three consecutive days of running to fatigue on a treadmill to mimic a short period of stressful exercise. One group of runners received quercetin, the other did not.
The remaining two groups did not exercise. One non-exercise group received quercetin while the other did not. All four groups were then exposed to a common flu virus, H1N1.
The researchers found that:
Although this study was done with mice, a recent human study found that people who took quercetin suffered fewer illnesses following three days of exhaustive exercise compared to those who did not. Unlike the mouse study, the humans were not inoculated with a virus.
"This is the first controlled experimental study to show a benefit of short-term quercetin feedings on susceptibility to respiratory infection following exercise stress," said Davis. "Quercetin feeding was an effective preventive strategy to offset the increase in susceptibility to infection that was associated with stressful exercise."
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 September 2008 17:08 |
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The TS-Si News Service is a collaboration of TS-Si staff, contributors, and corresponding institutions. Contents do not necessarily convey official positions of TS-Si, its partners, or affiliates