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Compound Monograph

Rutin

Rutin — the rutinoside (glycoside) of quercetin, a flavonol glycoside found in many medicinal plants, with antiviral and vascular (capillary-supporting) activity.

Work in progress

Classification

Rutin is a flavonol glycoside (rutinoside of quercetin), part of the phenolics class. Antioxidant compounds built around one or more phenol rings — the flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, coumarins, and pigments behind much of a plant's protective chemistry.

Phenolics Flavonoids

Where Does It Come From? (36)

Rutin is a naturally occurring flavonol glycoside (rutinoside of quercetin), found in Buchu, Bupleurum, Calendula and 33 other sources. It is well tolerated orally (low toxicity).

Amaranth Amaranthus blitum Apples Arnica Arnica montana Blue Lotus Flower Nymphaea caerulea Buchu Agathosma betulina Buckwheat Bupleurum Bupleurum falcatum Calendula Calendula officinalis Camu-camu Myrciaria dubia Cat's Claw Uncaria tomentosa Catnip Nepeta cataria Chanca Piedra Phyllanthus niruri Chickweed Stellaria media CitrusCitrus fruit Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara Couchgrass Elytrigia repens Fish Mint Houttuynia cordata Goldenrod Solidago virgaurea Gotu Kola Centella asiatica Gynostemma Gynostemma pentaphyllum Hawthorn Crataegus oxyacantha Hibiscus Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Hops Humulus lupulus Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum Juniper Juniperus communis Motherwort Leonurus cardiaca Olive Leaf Olea europaea Samambaia Polypodium leucotomos Sarsaparilla Smilax spp. Sophora St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatum Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica Tribulus Tribulus terrestris Yarrow Achillea millefolium Yerba Maté Ilex paraguariensis

Research & Evidence

Rutin is the rutinoside of quercetin — that is, quercetin bound to the disaccharide rutinose — and it travels alongside quercetin in the flavonoid fraction of many of the herbs in this database. On most herb pages it appears in the phytochemistry list rather than as an isolated active, but two monographs attribute specific actions to it.

  • Antiviral — rutin, together with quercetin (and likely other flavonoids), has been reported as active against a range of viruses including HSV-1, HIV-1, HIV-2, poliovirus type 1, parainfluenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus 1Reference 1Ashour et al. · 2014Anti-infective and cytotoxic properties of Bupleurum marginatumView study →. In Bupleurum, rutin and quercetin are regarded as the main antiviral agents; the proposed mechanism is that these flavonoids inhibit viral polymerase activity and bind viral nucleic acid or capsid proteins, reducing viral replication 1Reference 1Ashour et al. · 2014Anti-infective and cytotoxic properties of Bupleurum marginatumView study →.
  • Cardiovascular (coronary dilation) — in hawthorn, rutin is one of the leaf and flower flavonoids implicated in coronary artery dilation, an effect attributed to a combination of triterpene acids, several flavonoids (including rutin), and the oligomeric procyanidins 2Reference 2Occhiuto et al. · 1986Comparative study of the cardiovascular activity of shoots, leaves and flowers of Crataegus oxyacantha: 2.

Beyond these, rutin is consistently listed as part of the flavonoid content of plants such as buchu, calendula, cat’s claw, gotu kola, hops, olive leaf, and yerba maté, where it contributes to the overall flavonoid/antioxidant profile of the whole-plant extract rather than being singled out.

The real, compound-specific evidence on the source-herb pages is limited, so this is deliberately a short summary. The references below are the entries that genuinely pertain to rutin, and this section will grow as more compound-specific research is added.

Toxicity & Safety

Rutin is a common dietary flavonol glycoside — it is the compound that gives buckwheat much of its flavonoid content — and it is well tolerated in the amounts supplied by the herbs that contain it. The source monographs do not record specific toxicity for rutin; cautions on those pages relate to the whole herbs rather than to this flavonoid. As with any concentrated flavonoid supplement, isolated high-dose use is a separate matter from dietary intake, and anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescription medication should seek professional guidance before using concentrated extracts.

References

  1. Ashour, M. L, El-Readi, M. Z, Hamoud, R., Eid, S. Y, El Ahmady, S. H., Nibret, E, Wink, M. (2014). Anti-infective and cytotoxic properties of Bupleurum marginatum. Chinese Medicine, 9(1), 4. doi:10.1186/1749-8546-9-4
  2. Occhiuto, F., Circosta, C., Costa, R., Briguglio, F., & Tommasini, A. (1986). Comparative study of the cardiovascular activity of shoots, leaves and flowers of Crataegus oxyacantha: 2. Action of extracts and isolated pure active principles on the isolated rabbit heart. Plantes medicinales et phytotherapie, 20, 52-63.