Quercetin is a substance found in many fruits, vegetables, seeds, and grains. It’s a type of plant flavonol, part of a group called polyphenols.
Some foods, like capers, red onions, and kale, have a lot of quercetin. It has a bitter taste and is often used in dietary supplements, drinks, and foods.
Past studies have shown that quercetin might help prevent heart disease because it can lower high blood pressure.
Recently, a team from the University of Bonn ran a study to look more closely at the effects of quercetin on blood pressure.
They focused on people who were overweight or obese and had high blood pressure or were at risk of developing it.
How was the Study Conducted?
The study included 70 participants. They were divided into two groups. One group was given 162 milligrams per day of quercetin from onion skin extract.
The other group was given a placebo, which is a substance that doesn’t have any effect. This part of the study lasted for six weeks.
The team measured the participants’ blood pressure before and after this period.
They used two types of blood pressure measurements: ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), which is a way of monitoring blood pressure throughout the day, and office blood pressure, which is measured during a doctor’s visit.
Findings from the Study
The results were promising. In the group with high blood pressure, the people who took quercetin had their systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) drop by about 3.6 mmHg compared to the placebo group.
Quercetin also helped lower daytime and nighttime systolic blood pressure in people with high blood pressure.
However, it didn’t have an effect on other health markers, like inflammation, lipid and glucose metabolism, and oxidation, in the entire group or the subgroup with high blood pressure.
The team concluded that taking 162 milligrams of quercetin per day from onion skin extract could lower blood pressure. This finding suggests that quercetin could help protect the heart.
What does this mean for you?
If you’re worried about high blood pressure, consider reading more about the potential benefits of drinking tea and using herbal supplements, as they may help lower blood pressure.
For more on blood pressure, look at recent research about the link between added sugar in your diet and higher blood pressure, and findings that suggest vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
This research was published in the British Journal of Nutrition and was conducted by Verena Brüll and her team.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that drinking tea could help lower blood pressure, and early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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