In this post, we’ll discuss what is myricetin, some of the latest research related to myricetin and health, list myricetin-rich foods, and rank foods based on their density of myricetin.
Phytochemicals are the chemicals found in the plants we eat and often affect our health in ways we’re only just beginning to research and understand.
Myricetin is one of these phytochemicals found in many vegetables and fruits like berries that appears to have several beneficial effects on our health.
These possible benefits include anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, and more.
And while health organizations don’t yet provide any statements regarding the health effects of myricetin or provide a recommended dietary intake value, many individuals are looking for myricetin-rich foods to add to their diets to improve their health.
Myricetin and Health
Myricetin, is a polyphenol found in a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Polyphenols are a class of compounds with a particular chemical structure that have begun to accumulate research expounding their potential virtues towards good health.
Myricetin is flavonoid, a class of polyphenols that also includes compounds such as Isorhamnetin, Kaempferol, and Quercetin.
This class of compounds has been identified in both in vitro and in vivo studies as a potential dietary anticancer compound. In vitro toxicology studies have shown that myricetin is cytotoxic to hepatic, skin, pancreatic, and colon cancer cells.
Myricetin also appears to help inhibit cell-growth in leukemia, inhibits photoaging, inhibits growth of bladder cancer, and inhibits metastasis in lung cell carcinoma.
Myricetin was also found to be chemoprotective against prostate cancer.
Myricetin was found to have anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive properties, as well as immunomodulatory activity.
Myricetin may even possess anti-HIV activity.
In mice myricetin enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis and capacity. Thus, for endurance athletes, myricetin may be useful for improving endurance capacity.
While Myricetin may seem like a miracle compound, remember that many of these studies are early and performed in vitro or in other animals. While this compound possesses great promise, more studies are needed.
Myricetin Foods
Myricetin rich foods are primarily fruits and vegetables.
Using the USDA Food Database, we compiled data from all the fruits and vegetables that contain information on polyphenol concentration.
It is likely that the USDA Food Database does not yet contain complete information about polyphenol concentrations in all the foods that we eat. Therefore, we will strive to update information as it becomes available.
Nevertheless, we scoured the entire database to find and rank all the foods by myricetin content and density.
Myricetin density is shown in the plot as the area in orange and is calculated as the amount of myricetin per calorie.
The myricetin content is shown in the chart as blue bars and represents the amount of myricetin in mg per weight (mg/100g).
See the ranking, below, of the myricetin in foods, ranked by density. Or see our interactive chart, here.
Myricetin in Food for Health
Myricetin is fast becoming an exciting nutritional compound with promise for reducing the risks of developing certain types of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The good news is that they’re present in healthy fruits and vegetables full of other positive nutritional components that should already be a part of your diet!