Kitchen Staple Holds Regenerative Key for Blood Vessels: Onions' Vascular Healing Capacity

Could small daily doses of common kitchen staple onions support long-term heart health? New clinical findings suggest so - the flavonoid quercetin in onion peel extract improved endothelial function markers in just 3 months.  

A landmark double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examined whether taking an onion peel extract (OPE) supplement containing the flavonoid quercetin could improve cardiovascular function in 72 healthy but overweight or obese adults aged 30-70 years.1 Participants were randomly split into two groups receiving either 100 mg quercetin daily from OPE capsules or visually identical placebo capsules over 12 weeks.2 Researchers measured endothelial function through flow-mediated dilation (FMD) percentages and circulating reparative endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) counts at the start and end.

After 12 weeks, the OPE group increased flow-mediated dilation from 12.5% to 15.2%, indicating enhanced blood vessel flexibility and vasodilation. Placebos showed no improvement. Additionally, EPCs essential for repairing and regenerating blood vessel linings significantly increased from 44.2 per microliter at baseline to 52.3 after OPE treatment. This endothelial progenitor cell enhancement highlights an exciting regenerative frontier for combating cardiovascular disease, rather than just symptom management or attempting to suppress surrogate markers of disease progression. Most pharmaceutical interventions simply aim to slow CVD pathogenesis rather than regenerating damaged endothelial tissue. However, by boosting endogenous vascular repair processes, onion extracts offer true endothelial-healing potential.  

Together these data showcase daily oral onion peel extract providing cardiovascular benefits in as little as 3 months for overweight adults vulnerable to endothelial dysfunction. Boosting endothelial nitric oxide bioavailability through onion’s anti-inflammatory quercetin polyphenols likely stimulated observed vascular improvements. So consider embracing onions’ unexpected heart-supporting potential in easy, sustainable ways – like enjoying quercetin-concentrated peel extracts.  

To learn more ways to address endothelial dysfunction, visit our database on the subject here.

© [5/15/2024] GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here //www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To learn more about heart disease and prevention and to earn cardiac related CE hours, Pedagogy offers the  following courses:

Pedagogy's courses are available for purchase by the individual or facility. For individuals, register with us to create your username and password, click on the course title of interest and then click the Purchase button. For a complete listing of all our online continuing education courses, including the largest selection of infusion continuing education courses offered online, click here!

For organizations that would like to purchase education for their entire staff, email sales@pedagogyeducation.com and let us know the course(s) of interest and how many staff members you need to provide education for, and we will be happy to send you a price quote.