To all,
Oh these rutin stories sound very good, finally Zark seems to have some well deserved followers. Probably I will try it too in the next future. For those who don't want to be dependent on food supplements I searched for some natural sources and the effects of cooking on rutin in vegetables.

One good source of rutin is tomato paste:

Occurrence of flavonols in tomatoes and tomato-based products.

Stewart AJ, Bozonnet S, Mullen W, Jenkins GI, Lean ME, Crozier A.

Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, U.K.

The flavonol contents of 20 varieties of tomato fruit were investigated in relation to variety, size, season, and country of origin. Ten commonly consumed tomato-based food products were also assessed. Free and conjugated flavonols were identified and quantified using reversed-phase HPLC. Ninety-eight percent of flavonols detected in tomatoes were found to occur in the skin. Tomatoes contained, primarily as conjugates, quercetin and kaempferol. The main quercetin conjugate was identified as rutin (quercetin 3-rhamnosylglucoside) by LC-MS. The total flavonol content of the different varieties of tomato that were analyzed varied from 1.3 to 22.2 microgram/g of fresh weight (fw). Smaller cherry tomato fruits originating from warm sunny climates, such as Spain and Israel, were found to contain the highest concentration of flavonols. Among the tomato-based products investigated, tomato juice and tomato puree were rich in flavonols, containing 14-16 microgram/mL and 70 microgram/g fw, respectively. In contrast to fresh tomatoes, most tomato-based products contained significant amounts of free flavonols.

However not much or none of the rutin comes in the bloodstream after eating a meal with cooked tomatoe paste:

Naringenin from cooked tomato paste is bioavailable in men.

Bugianesi R, Catasta G, Spigno P, D'Uva A, Maiani G.

Antioxidant Research Laboratory, National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research, 546-00178 Rome, Italy. bugianesi@inran.it

Naringenin has been shown to exert antiestrogenic, cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant activities, as well as an indirect modulation on the metabolism of many xenobiotics. It is one of the most abundant polyphenols in tomato. Given the widespread consumption of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) and tomato-based products, this study was designed to determine whether plasma levels of naringenin were detectable in five men after consumption of a test meal containing 150 mg of cooked tomato paste. Naringenin intake with the test meal was 3.8 mg. Blood was drawn from fasting subjects and 2, 4, 6, 8 and 24 h after the meal. To compare the results with a control, the same meal without tomato paste (control meal) was administered to the same subjects 2 wk later. Analyses were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a CoulArray electrochemical detector. The peak plasma concentration was 0.12 +/- 0.03 micro mol/L 2 h after the meal. Unconjugated naringenin was not detected. Naringenin was not detected in plasma at any time after consumption of the control meal. In addition to naringenin, we detected rutin and chlorogenic acid in tomato paste, but these polyphenols and their derivatives (quercetin and caffeic acid) were not detected in plasma at any time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating naringenin bioavailability in humans after consumption of a meal containing cooked tomato paste.

Probably the cooking is the cause of this as the following research describes:

Influence of cooking process on phenolic marker compounds of vegetables.

Andlauer W, Stumpf C, Hubert M, Rings A, Furst P.

Institute for Biological Chemistry & Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany. Wilfried.Andlauer@hevs.ch

Phenolic compounds are secondary plant metabolites which have long been associated with flavor and color characteristics of fruits and vegetables. These phenolic compounds attract great interest due to their postulated health protecting properties. However, adequate intakes and absorption rate of phenolic compounds are necessary for these beneficial effects. Until now, little is known about alterations of phenolic compounds content by the cooking process. In the present study, the influence of different volumes of cooking water on the amount of selected phenolic marker compounds resting in the vegetables was assessed. In zucchini, rutin was quantified as a marker for flavonoid glycosides. Chlorogenic acid, representative of phenolic acids was analyzed in carrots. In beans, rutin and quercitrin, both belonging to flavonoid glycosides, were investigated. In potatoes, chlorogenic and caffeic acid were determined. The cooking of zucchini, beans and carrots with smaller amounts of water resulted in significant higher content of phenolic phytochemicals in the vegetables compared to cooking with larger water volumes. For potatoes, which showed great variations in content of phenolic acids after cooking, no significant differences in phenolic acids was observed. It can be concluded from these observations, that real intakes of phenolic compounds from cooked vegetables are lower and that the amounts consumed are therefore overestimated..

So it can be concluded that it is favourable to cook in small volumes of water or to steam and if you add tomato puree to a meal do it as late as possible.

Gerard








"Walk gently, breathe peacefully, laugh hysterically." -Nelson Mandela-