Quercetin: A Bioactive Compound Imparting Cardiovascular and Neuroprotective Benefits: Scope for Exploring Fresh Produce, Their Wastes, and By-Products.

Irshad Ul Haq Bhat,Rajeev Bhat

doi:10.3390/biology10070586

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe present review summarizes the generated hypothesis and critical role of quercetin in cardiovascular and neuroprotective diseases reported over the last decade. In this review, 335 research articles were referred from the popular scientific database (e.g., Scopus and Web of Science) to elaborate on the importance of quercetin in addressing human ailments and the health-protective role imparted. Being a valuable bioactive compound within the circular economy context, the source for obtaining quercetin has been extended for food industrial wastes/byproducts (mainly of fresh produce). Further, the establishment of the molecular mechanism, antioxidant potential, oxidative stress, metabolic process, myocardial damage, anti neurogenerative potential, enzymatic expression, and ROS inhibition renders quercetin an ideal phytochemical that can provide protective benefits against cardiac and neurodegenerative diseases.Quercetin, a bioactive secondary metabolite, holds incredible importance in terms of bioactivities, which has been proved by in vivo and in vitro studies. The treatment of cardiovascular and neurological diseases by quercetin has been extensively investigated over the past decade. Quercetin is present naturally in appreciable amounts in fresh produce (fruits and vegetables). However, today, corresponding to the growing population and global demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, a paradigm shift and focus is laid towards exploring industrial food wastes and/or byproducts as a new resource to obtain bioactive compounds such as quercetin. Based on the available research reports over the last decade, quercetin has been suggested as a reliable therapeutic candidate for either treating or alleviating health issues, mainly those of cardiovascular and neurological diseases. In the present review, we have summarized some of the critical findings and hypotheses of quercetin from the available databases foreseeing its future use as a potential therapeutic agent to treat cardiovascular and neurological diseases. It is anticipated that this review will be a potential reference material for future research activities to be undertaken on quercetin obtained from fresh produce as well as their respective processing wastes/byproducts that rely on the circular concept.

Highlights

The results revealed that by this treatment, quercetin was accumulated in the brain and it was further hypothesized that nanoparticles could have the potential for neuroprotective drug delivery and treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD)
The tremendous effort by researchers to bring attention to the importance of quercetin as a cardioprotective and neuroprotective agent has led to a new milestone in discovering it as a potential therapeutical candidate
The main challenge in tabulating quercetin as a cardioprotective and neuroprotective agent is the diversion of demand from fresh resources to non-utilized food waste

Summary

Introduction

Quercetin is a carbohydrate-free flavonoid, a secondary metabolite found in flora, including fresh produce (fruits and vegetables), some of which include red onion, apples, and berries. These compounds have been studied to evaluate the biological activities of flavonoids [1]. The overview depicting the theme of this review is given in Figure 1 [2,3,4]. These properties of quercetin have been attributed primarily to their antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging ability. To the authors’ knowledge, there have been very limited reviews published that have shown cardioprotective and neuroprotective properties for quercetin

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion