QUERCETIN
Flammability | 1 | |
Toxicity | 2 | |
Body Contact | 2 | |
Reactivity | 1 | |
Chronic | 3 | |
SCALE: Min/Nil=0 Low=1 Moderate=2 High=3 Extreme=4 |
The aglucon of quercitrin, of rutin and of other glycosides. Widely distributed in plants
especially in rinds and barks, in clover blossom and in rag- weed pollen. Isolated from
Rhododendron cinnabarinum Hook Ericaceae.
C15-H10-O7, "flavone, 3, 3', 4', 5, 7-pentahydroxy-", "flavone, 3, 3', 4', 5, 7-
pentahydroxy-", "4H-1-benzopyran-4-one, 2-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3, 5, 7-trihydroxy-",
"4H-1-benzopyran-4-one, 2-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3, 5, 7-trihydroxy-", "C.I. 75670",
"C.I. Natural Red 1", "C.I. Natural Yellow 10", "C.I. Natural Yellow 10 & 13",
"cyanidelonon 1522", Kvercetin, meletin, NCI-C60106, "3, 5, 7, 3', 4'-
pentahydroxyflavone", "3, 5, 7, 3', 4'-pentahydroxyflavone", quercetine, quercetol,
quercitin, sophoretin, "3', 4', 5, 7-tetrahydroxyflavan-3-ol", "3', 4', 5, 7-
tetrahydroxyflavan-3-ol", "T-Gelb BZW. Grun 1", xanthaurine, "quercetin hydrate [CAS RN:
849061-97-8]", "quercetin hydrate [CAS RN: 849061-97-8]", "quercetin dihydrate [CAS RN:
6151-25-3]", "quercetin dihydrate [CAS RN: 6151-25-3]", "flavanoid aglucon"
Harmful if swallowed.
Accidental ingestion of the material may be harmful; animal experiments indicate that ingestion of less than 150 gram may be fatal or may produce serious damage to the health of the individual.
Although the material is not thought to be an irritant, direct contact with the eye may cause transient discomfort characterized by tearing or conjunctival redness (as with windburn). Slight abrasive damage may also result. The material may produce foreign body irritation in certain individuals.
The material is not thought to be a skin irritant (as classified using animal models). Abrasive damage however, may result from prolonged exposures. Good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable gloves be used in an occupational setting. Skin contact with the material may damage the health of the individual; systemic effects may result following absorption. Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material. Entry into the blood-stream, through, for example, cuts, abrasions or lesions, may produce systemic injury with harmful effects. Examine the skin prior to the use of the material and ensure that any external damage is suitably protected.
Inhalation may produce health damage*. The material is not thought to produce respiratory irritation (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless inhalation of dusts, or fume, especially for prolonged periods, may produce respiratory discomfort and occasionally, distress. Inhalation of dusts, generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may be damaging to the health of the individual. Persons with impaired respiratory function, airway diseases and conditions such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, may incur further disability if excessive concentrations of particulate are inhaled.
There has been some concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations but there is not enough data to make an assessment. Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems. There is some evidence that human exposure to the material may result in developmental toxicity. This evidence is based on animal studies where effects have been observed in the absence of marked maternal toxicity, or at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects but which are not secondary non-specific consequences of the other toxic effects. Long term exposure to high dust concentrations may cause changes in lung function i.e. pneumoconiosis; caused by particles less than 0.5 micron penetrating and remaining in the lung. Prime symptom is breathlessness; lung shadows show on X-ray. Exposure to the material for prolonged periods may cause physical defects in the developing embryo (teratogenesis). Flavonoids, which are found in a range of foods and medicines, has been shown to cause leukemia in infancy, but, if taken at high levels in the diet, they reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancer. It has been argued that while quercetin is a mutagen it cannot be demonstrated that it is a carcinogen. [Stoewsand et al, J. Tox. Env. Health,14,pp 1-2-114, 1984]