Quercetin is a natural compound in onions, apples, berries, teas, kale, broccoli, scallions, and other plant foods. Research has shown this super nutrient to have significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, immune balancing, and antiviral properties.
In addition to all these benefits, quercetin has been shown to support kidney health in recent years. A study in the mainstream scientific journal PLOS ONE found that acute kidney injury (AKI) affects up to 36% of patients with the current infectious health crisis. Quercetin was found to have protective effects against kidney damage from this infectious agent by blocking inflammation and cell death-related pathways. Quercetin also had the benefit of blocking active sites of the contagious viral agent. The authors state, “Quercetin may be a novel therapeutic agent for [C] induced AKI. Inhibition of inflammatory, cell apoptosis-related signaling pathways may be the critical mechanisms by which Quercetin protects kidney from [C] injury.”
Another study reviewed the mechanisms by which quercetin protects against chemotherapy-induced kidney injury. The authors note that quercetin significantly reduces immune inflammation signaling to protect against kidney damage from chemotherapy. The authors state, “In summary, these findings clarified a new mechanism of quercetin improving AKI-induced kidney inflammation and injury, which provides a new drug option for the clinical treatment of AKI.”
The last study I will review was published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The authors note that none of the nine previous studies reviewed reported any adverse effects. In addition, only one clinical trial out of twelve reviewed by the researchers found some adverse effects, including negative kidney effects. However, this study involved a high dose of intravenous (given directly into the bloodstream) quercetin. Intravenous therapies increase the level of the administered agent up to 100 times that of oral administration and so cannot be used as a means of assessing the oral supplementation of quercetin. Interestingly, quercetin is not even readily available as an intravenous treatment.
The authors also stated that quercetin had renoprotective (kidney protective) effects in experimental studies. In addition, the same authors conducted a study where 134 participants were given contrast dye for coronary artery imaging or contrast dye and quercetin supplementation at a dose of 500 mg every 8 hours for three to five days. This study was important since contrast dye used for imaging (CT scans and MRI’s for example) is a leading cause of acute kidney failure. The results showed less incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (kidney disease) in the group that received quercetin, as evidenced by kidney filtration testing. Also, there were no toxic effects associated with quercetin supplementation. Only 3% of patients treated with quercetin reported abdominal pain. The authors stated, “these results suggest a potential effectiveness of quercetin as nephroprotector[kidney protection] against CM[contrast medium]-induced renal damage with absence of adverse effects.” The authors also noted that their results agreed with previous studies where oral administration of quercetin was safe, both in a healthy population and those with digestive disease or cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and high cholesterol. Therefore, this study showed that quercetin supplemented orally at a dose of 1500 mg daily was very safe and well-tolerated.
I recommend my patients take advantage of our technologically advanced and researched Quercetin Wellness. It allows my patients to achieve blood levels up to 20 times better than regular quercetin absorption.
Dr. Mark Stengler NMD, MS, is a bestselling author in private practice in Encinitas, California, at the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine. His newsletter, Dr. Stengler’s Health Breakthroughs, is available at www.markstengler.com and his product line at www.drstengler.com
Gu Y, Zhang M, Cen H et al. Quercetin as a potential treatment for COVID-19-induced acute kidney injury: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking study. PLoS One. 2021;16(1):e0245209. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245209
Vicente-Vicente L, González-Calle D, Casanova A et al. Quercetin, a Promising Clinical Candidate for The Prevention of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(19):4961. doi:10.3390/ijms20194961
Tan R, Wang C, Deng C et al. Quercetin protects against cisplatin‐induced acute kidney injury by inhibiting Mincle/Syk/NF‐κB signaling maintained macrophage inflammation. Phytotherapy Research. 2019;34(1):139-152. doi:10.1002/ptr.6507
About Dr. StenglerDr. Mark Stengler NMD is a bestselling author and in private practice in Encinitas, California. His weekly newsletter, Dr. Stengler'sHealth Breakthroughs, is available at www.americasnaturaldoctor.com
