From The July 2001 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Quercetin Relieves Prostate Pain

Chronic prostatitis (CP) is marked by pelvic pain, painful ejaculation, and irritation or obstruction during urination, all unrelated to pathogenic bacteria. More than 2 million U.S. doctor office visits a year are prompted by such symptoms.¹ One remedy may be the flavonoid quercetin, abundant in red grape juices and wines, apples, tea, and onions.²

Recent studies have used the antioxidant quercetin for CP with noteworthy success. In the first placebo-controlled study, 30 men (ages 26­72) received either placebo or 500 mg quercetin twice daily for one month.³ Pain symptoms and overall quality of life improved in two-thirds of the men taking quercetin. Another recent study showed the combination of 500 mg quercetin and the plant enzymes bromelain and papain (twice daily) reduced free radical damage within prostatic fluid of men with prostatitis.⁴

No data show bromelain and papain to have any antioxidant effect, and this combination has not been compared to quercetin. Pending further studies, it is probably just as effective, and cheaper, to take quercetin alone.

References

1. Nickel JC, et al. Research guidelines for chronic prostatitis: consensus report from the first National Institutes of Health International Prostatitis Collaborative Network. Urology 1999;54:229-33.

2. Gross M, et al. The quantitation of metabolites of quercetin flavonols in human urine. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1996;5:711-20.

3. Shoskes DA, et al. Quercetin in men with category III chronic prostatitis: a preliminary prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Urology 1999;54:960-3.

4. Shahed AR, Shoskes DA. Oxidative stress in prostatic fluid of patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome: correlation with gram positive bacterial growth and treatment response. J Androl 2000;21:669-75.