Traditional uses and pharmacological properties of rutin
Traditional uses and pharmacological properties of rutin
- Author(s) Utpal Tripathi, Anjna Rani, Rupa Mazumder and Rakhi Mishra
- Year: 2025
- Month: July
- Volume: 65
- Pages: 223-234
Rutin, a bioactive flavonoid glycoside found in over seventy plant species, has attracted considerable interest because of its broad pharmacological profile. Traditionally derived from buckwheat seeds, citrus fruits and medicinal plants, rutin has been a keystone of therapeutic uses in Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and European herbal traditions. Modern studies validate its multifaceted bioactivities, such as strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and anticancer activities. Pharmacological studies demonstrate that rutin has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacterial and fungal pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (Rosenbach, 1884) and Candida krusei (Castellani, 1905) and synergistically improves standard antibiotic and antifungal treatments. Although having significant therapeutic promise, rutin's translation into the clinical setting is circumscribed by its limited aqueous solubility and bioavailability. Progress in recent nanoencapsulation and drug delivery techniques has endeavoured to obviate these barriers, optimizing their pharmacokinetics. By linking conventional medicinal heritage with contemporary pharmacological developments, rutin remains at the epicentre of scientific research, anticipating new therapeutic interventions in chronic disease treatment.
