Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #179543
Title: METABOLISM OF DIETARY QUERCETIN IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, LIVER AND KIDNEY OF THE RAT

Author
item GRAF, BRIGITTE - TUFTS/HNRCA
item MILBURY, PAUL - TUFTS/HNRCA
item AMEHO, CLEMENT - TUFTS/HNRCA
item DOLNIKOWSKI, GREGORY - TUFTS/HNRCA
item BLUMBERG, JEFFREY - TUFTS/HNRCA

Submitted to: The Cornucopia
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/14/2004
Publication Date: 3/1/2005
Citation: Graf, B.A., Milbury, P., Ameho, C., Dolnikowski, G.G., Blumberg, J.B. 2005. Metabolism of dietary quercetin in the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidney of the rat [abstract]. IIn The Cornucopia. The 229th National Meeting of the American Chemisal Society. March 3-17, 2005, San Diego, California. Paper No. 184.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: To investigate the hypothesis that dietary quercetin is metabolized in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract as well as in metabolically active organs, tissue and plasma were analyzed from six F344 rats fed 0.5% quercetin for 6 wk. Homogenized samples were extracted with phosphate buffer/methanol and partitioned against ethyl acetate. The aqueous phase was purified by solid phase extraction and both phases combined and concentrated. Using HPLC-UV and MS/MS, 14 quercetin conjugates with one or more methyl, sulfate or glucuronide moieties were identified. Plasma, liver and kidney contained exclusively quercetin metabolites, while >65% of quercetin in GI tissues (stomach, intestine, cecum, colon) and <10% in the luminal contents was metabolized. The metabolite profile in plasma and kidney were similar, but liver and each of the GI tissues had different metabolite profiles. Thus, pre-systemic metabolism in the GI tract appears to contribute significantly to the biotransformation of quercetin in vivo.