Taxifolin

Taxifolin at a Glance

Taxifolin (dihydroquercetin) is the flavanonol precursor of quercetin in the biosynthetic pathway, concentrated in Siberian and Dahurian larch heartwood and in pine bark.

It is sold as a stable-antioxidant supplement, and stability is its selling point: taxifolin lacks the C2–C3 double bond that makes quercetin prone to oxidation, so it degrades far more slowly — the trade-off being that the same missing bond reduces radical-scavenging potency.

What It's Used For

Taxifolin (dihydroquercetin) is a flavanonol — structurally it is quercetin with its C-ring double bond saturated (the 2,3-dihydro form), and in plants it is the biosynthetic precursor that is oxidized to quercetin ^{3Reference 3Filippovich SY et al. · 2025Modern developing directions in the dihydroquercetin studyView study →}.

That one structural difference is the selling point and the caveat. The selling point: the saturated ring makes taxifolin more chemically and oxidatively stable than quercetin in solution and storage ^{2Reference 2Das A et al. · 2021ReviewPharmacological basis and new insights of taxifolin: a comprehensive reviewView study →}.

The caveat: it shares quercetin’s poor oral bioavailability, and losing the ring conjugation arguably makes it a somewhat weaker direct radical scavenger ^{5Reference 5Heřmánková E et al. · 2019Redox properties of individual quercetin moietiesView study →} — so “more stable” does not mean “more potent.” Its evidence base is overwhelmingly preclinical (antioxidant, Nrf2 induction, amyloid anti-aggregation), with only a small human surrogate-endpoint trial ^{9Reference 9Shinozaki F et al. · 2023RCTIngestion of taxifolin-rich foods affects brain activity, mental fatigue and the whole-blood transcriptome in healthy young adults: a randomised crossover trialView study →}.

The larch-derived extract does, however, hold EU novel-food authorization ^{16Reference 16EFSA · 2017Scientific opinion on taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)View study →}.

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

Support is an experimental score — weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro) and volume. A beta, not a validated metric. Taxifolin’s outcome data are largely preclinical, so scores stay low by design. Each application links to its write-up.

01Antioxidant / cytoprotectiveShaky42%Extensive in-vitro + animal; regulatory acceptance ^{5,2,6Reference 5Heřmánková E et al. · 2019Redox properties of individual quercetin moietiesView study →Reference 2Das A et al. · 2021ReviewPharmacological basis and new insights of taxifolin: a comprehensive reviewView study →Reference 6Althunibat OY et al. · 2023Hepatoprotective effect of taxifolin on cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress via Nrf2/HO-1 signallingView study →}

02Neuroprotective (amyloid)Shaky40%Strong mouse model + one small human surrogate RCT ^{7,8,9Reference 7Saito S et al. · 2017Taxifolin inhibits amyloid-β oligomer formation and fully restores vascular integrity and memory in cerebral amyloid angiopathyView study →Reference 8Saito S et al. · 2021Taxifolin: a potential therapeutic agent for cerebral amyloid angiopathyView study →Reference 9Shinozaki F et al. · 2023RCTIngestion of taxifolin-rich foods affects brain activity, mental fatigue and the whole-blood transcriptome in healthy young adults: a randomised crossover trialView study →}

03Anti-inflammatoryShaky30%Preclinical NF-κB / Nrf2 ^{6,1Reference 6Althunibat OY et al. · 2023Hepatoprotective effect of taxifolin on cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress via Nrf2/HO-1 signallingView study →Reference 1Mandour GH et al. · 2026ReviewExploring the therapeutic potential of naturally occurring taxifolin, a dietary flavonoid: an updated comprehensive reviewView study →}

04Metabolic / antidiabeticShaky24%Animal (formulation-dependent) + in-silico ^{12,14Reference 12Qi C et al. · 2025Nanometerising taxifolin into selenized liposomes to ameliorate its hypoglycemic effect by improving bioavailabilityView study →Reference 14McMillan J et al. · 2025In-silico and in-vitro evaluation of flavonoid derivatives for diabetes management (α-amylase/α-glucosidase)View study →}

05AnticancerShaky20%Cell/animal, review-level ^{4Reference 4Das S et al. · 2026Taxifolin as a promising anticancer agent: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potentialsView study →}

Mechanisms

Pharmacokinetics

Load-bearing. Taxifolin shares quercetin’s core problem — low, variable oral bioavailability from poor aqueous solubility and extensive phase-II glucuronidation/sulfation — but its saturated C-ring makes the molecule more chemically and oxidatively stable in solution and storage, which is its main practical advantage ^{2,1Reference 2Das A et al. · 2021ReviewPharmacological basis and new insights of taxifolin: a comprehensive reviewView study →Reference 1Mandour GH et al. · 2026ReviewExploring the therapeutic potential of naturally occurring taxifolin, a dietary flavonoid: an updated comprehensive reviewView study →}. It is a biosynthetic precursor to quercetin (dihydroflavonol → flavonol) in plants ^{3Reference 3Filippovich SY et al. · 2025Modern developing directions in the dihydroquercetin studyView study →}. Tellingly, the bulk of recent pharmacokinetic literature is formulation work aimed at fixing absorption — microencapsulation to improve stability and bioaccessibility ^{11Reference 11Liu B et al. · 2025Preparation of dihydroquercetin microcapsules to improve stability, solubility and bioaccessibilityView study →}, selenized liposomes to raise bioavailability ^{12Reference 12Qi C et al. · 2025Nanometerising taxifolin into selenized liposomes to ameliorate its hypoglycemic effect by improving bioavailabilityView study →}, and nanoparticle, nasal-gel and self-propelled-nanomotor systems ^{10,13Reference 10Abou-Taleb BA et al. · 2024Dihydroquercetin nanoparticle nasal gel for the amelioration of Alzheimer’s diseaseView study →Reference 13Xing H et al. · 2026Rice-bran-protein self-propelled nanomotors for targeted delivery of dihydroquercetin: anti-atherosclerosisView study →}. The interpretation: free-form oral taxifolin reaches only modest plasma levels, and most efficacy data assume a delivery enhancement not present in a plain capsule.

Clinical trials

The human evidence is thin. The one retrievable quality trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover of taxifolin-rich foods in healthy young adults, reporting effects on brain activity, mental fatigue and the blood transcriptome — small, on surrogate/subjective endpoints in a healthy population ^{9Reference 9Shinozaki F et al. · 2023RCTIngestion of taxifolin-rich foods affects brain activity, mental fatigue and the whole-blood transcriptome in healthy young adults: a randomised crossover trialView study →}. Regulatory-grade human-relevant documentation exists via EFSA’s novel-food assessment of the larch extract ^{16,17Reference 16EFSA · 2017Scientific opinion on taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)View study →Reference 17EFSA · 2017Statement on the safety of taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)View study →}. The historical Russian “Diquertin”/dihydroquercetin clinical usage (cardiovascular, pulmonary) is real in the Russian-language literature but is not represented by retrievable, peer-reviewed, English-indexed trials of adequate quality — treat those claims as unverified. No disease-outcome trial has been verified.

Last checked: July 2026.

Toxicity & Safety

Taxifolin has an unusually solid toxicology record for a plant flavonoid — a GLP battery plus EFSA novel-food authorization — but the interaction side is essentially unstudied, so the cautions below are extrapolation rather than evidence.

Safety at a Glance

✅ Low / no toxicity

• Low toxicity, no genotoxicity. A GLP toxicology and genotoxicity battery on the larch-derived Lavitol extract found no signal.
• Efsa-authorized novel food. The taxifolin-rich Dahurian-larch extract has favorable regulatory standing.
• No dedicated human interaction or CYP study. Interactions are simply not characterized.
• Theoretical additive effects. Anticoagulants, antiplatelets and antihyperglycemics are extrapolation from the flavonoid class, not findings.

Full Safety & Interactions Detail

Taxifolin has low toxicity and is well characterized for the larch-derived material: a GLP toxicology and genotoxicity battery on a dihydroquercetin-rich Larix gmelinii extract (Lavitol) found low toxicity and no genotoxicity ^{15Reference 15Schauss AG et al. · 2015Toxicological and genotoxicity assessment of a dihydroquercetin-rich Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) extract (Lavitol)View study →}, and EFSA issued a favorable opinion authorizing the taxifolin-rich Dahurian-larch extract as a novel food — the closest thing to a “GRAS-adjacent” regulatory standing ^{16,17Reference 16EFSA · 2017Scientific opinion on taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)View study →Reference 17EFSA · 2017Statement on the safety of taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)View study →}.

Interactions are not well studied: no dedicated human interaction or CYP study is available, so the theoretical additive effects with anticoagulants/antiplatelets or antihyperglycemics, and the generic flavonoid CYP/UGT-competition caution, are extrapolation rather than evidence and should be labeled as such. No reproductive-toxicity or human pregnancy data for taxifolin were verified, and the EFSA novel-food authorisation does not extend to a demonstrated pregnancy safety margin ^{16Reference 16EFSA · 2017Scientific opinion on taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)View study →} — the regulatory standing covers the extract as a food, not its use in pregnancy.

Dosage

There is no established therapeutic dose, and nothing here is a recommendation. Larch dihydroquercetin supplements (e.g. Lavitol / Siberian-larch DHQ) are commonly sold at roughly 25–100 mg/day, with some products and studies using up to a few hundred mg/day; the one human trial delivered taxifolin via taxifolin-rich foods rather than a standardized isolated dose ^{9Reference 9Shinozaki F et al. · 2023RCTIngestion of taxifolin-rich foods affects brain activity, mental fatigue and the whole-blood transcriptome in healthy young adults: a randomised crossover trialView study →}. Poor bioavailability means the effective free-form dose is undefined and formulation-dependent.

References

1. Mandour GH, El-Dessouki AM, Attallah KA, et al. (2026). Exploring the therapeutic potential of naturally occurring taxifolin, a dietary flavonoid: an updated comprehensive review. Frontiers in Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41958938/
2. Das A, et al. (2021). Pharmacological basis and new insights of taxifolin: a comprehensive review. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34388527/
3. Filippovich SY, Isakova EP, Bachurina GP, et al. (2025). Modern developing directions in the dihydroquercetin study. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41226150/
4. Das S, Mukherjee S, Karati D (2026). Taxifolin as a promising anticancer agent: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potentials. Journal of Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41987592/
5. Heřmánková E, Zatloukalová M, Biler M, et al. (2019). Redox properties of individual quercetin moieties. Free Radical Biology and Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31381971/
6. Althunibat OY, Abukhalil MH, Jghef MM, et al. (2023). Hepatoprotective effect of taxifolin on cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress via Nrf2/HO-1 signalling. Biomolecules and Biomedicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36762432/
7. Saito S, et al. (2017). Taxifolin inhibits amyloid-β oligomer formation and fully restores vascular integrity and memory in cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Acta Neuropathologica Communications. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28376923/
8. Saito S, Tanaka M, Satoh-Asahara N, et al. (2021). Taxifolin: a potential therapeutic agent for cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Frontiers in Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33643053/
9. Shinozaki F, Kamei A, Shimada K, et al. (2023). Ingestion of taxifolin-rich foods affects brain activity, mental fatigue and the whole-blood transcriptome in healthy young adults: a randomised crossover trial. Food & Function. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36946764/
10. Abou-Taleb BA, El-Hadidy WF, Masoud IM, et al. (2024). Dihydroquercetin nanoparticle nasal gel for the amelioration of Alzheimer’s disease. International Journal of Pharmaceutics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39384026/
11. Liu B, Sun J, Han L, et al. (2025). Preparation of dihydroquercetin microcapsules to improve stability, solubility and bioaccessibility. Food Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40882258/
12. Qi C, Xing H, Ding N, et al. (2025). Nanometerising taxifolin into selenized liposomes to ameliorate its hypoglycemic effect by improving bioavailability. International Journal of Nanomedicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40007903/
13. Xing H, Dong H, Guo C, et al. (2026). Rice-bran-protein self-propelled nanomotors for targeted delivery of dihydroquercetin: anti-atherosclerosis. Food Research International. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41539796/
14. McMillan J, Bester MJ, Apostolides Z (2025). In-silico and in-vitro evaluation of flavonoid derivatives for diabetes management (α-amylase/α-glucosidase). In Silico Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41282961/
15. Schauss AG, Tselyico SS, Kuznetsova VA, et al. (2015). Toxicological and genotoxicity assessment of a dihydroquercetin-rich Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) extract (Lavitol). International Journal of Toxicology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25850419/
16. EFSA (2017). Scientific opinion on taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii). EFSA Journal. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32625400/
17. EFSA (2017). Statement on the safety of taxifolin-rich extract from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii). EFSA Journal. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32625351/

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