Rutin
Rutin is a flavonoid glycoside composed of quercetin linked to the disaccharide rutinose. It occurs in plants, including buckwheat and citrus.
Quercetin: Quercetin is a plant flavonol found in many fruits, vegetables, and leaves. Rutin’s flavonoid portion is quercetin, attached to rutinose at one of its hydroxyl groups.
Buckwheat: Buckwheat is a flowering plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds and leaves. Buckwheat, especially tartary buckwheat, is a notable dietary source of rutin.
Flavonoid biosynthesis: Flavonoid biosynthesis is the plant pathway that produces flavonoids from phenylpropanoid and polyketide precursors. Plants make rutin through this broader pathway before attaching its sugar group.
Isoquercitrin: Isoquercitrin is quercetin bonded to a single glucose molecule. Unlike rutin, it has one sugar rather than the glucose–rhamnose disaccharide rutinose.
Rutinose: Rutinose is a disaccharide composed of glucose and rhamnose. This sugar unit is attached to quercetin to form rutin.
Citrus: Citrus is a genus of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs that includes oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. Rutin occurs in some citrus tissues, including peel.
Glycosidic bond: A glycosidic bond is a covalent linkage joining a sugar to another molecule or sugar. This bond connects quercetin and rutinose in rutin.
Quercitrin: Quercitrin is quercetin bonded to the sugar rhamnose. It shares rutin’s quercetin core but carries a different sugar unit.
Flavonoid: Flavonoids are plant polyphenols with a characteristic three-ring carbon framework. Rutin belongs to this broad family of plant compounds.
Dietary supplement: A dietary supplement is a product intended to add nutrients or other substances to the diet. Rutin is marketed in supplement products, though evidence for specific health benefits varies.