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Health News Archive 700 - Respiratory Tract
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Quercetin Reduces Upper Respiratory Tract Infections

Quercetin, a flavonoid found in fruit, such as apples and berries, helps reduce illnesses in people who have carried out extensive exercise.

Researchers writing in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal found that supplementation of quercetin reduced incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). This study adds to an increasing body of evidence pointing to the health benefits of the antioxidant quercetin, which has been linked to having an ability to fight oxidative stress as well as anti-cancer benefits.

According to the New Scientist, studies of quercetin have been supported by DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) - the Pentagon's research arm - in the hope it could be used to protect US troops. This too shows the potential of the flavonoid is also being considered outside of the consumer food market.

Lead author Dr. David Nieman from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, wrote: "During missions, soldiers are running around for two or three days with heavy packs on. They don't eat or sleep, and infections are as much of a problem if not a more serious issue than injuries,"

Researchers gave 40 male cyclists 1000 mg of quercetin a day, which is the equivalent to eating 100 apples, or a placebo for three weeks. During this time, the cyclists spent a three-day period training at maximum intensity for three hours each day.

Blood and saliva samples were collected before and after each of the three exercise sessions and examined for natural killer cell activity, PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation, polymorphonuclear oxidative-burst activity, and salivary IgA output.

They found that changes in these levels did not differ significantly between quercetin and placebo groups. However, URTI incidence during the two week post-exercise period "differed significantly."

Source: David Nieman, Dru Henson, Sarah Gross, David Jenkins, Mark Davis, Angela Murphy, Martin Carmichael, Charles Dumke, Alan Utter, Steven Mcanulty, Lisa Mcanulty, Eugene Mayer. Quercetin Reduces Illness but Not Immune Perturbations after Intensive Exercise; Medicines and Science in Sports Exercise; DOI: 10.1249/mss.0b013e318076b566

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