Quercetin Reduces Pain, Anxiety, and Depression

Corticotropin-releasing hormone/factor (CRH, also called CRF) is released by your hypothalamus gland to coordinate the production of adrenal hormones and your stress response. Chronic stress can lead to excess CRH production, in turn directly causing anxiety and depression. A new study shows that quercetin can stop excessive CRH production and thereby take the edge off of anxiety and depression.

In fact, pretreatment with quercetin was able to prevent anxiety and depression from developing in the first place.

One of the most difficult forms of stress is nerve-related pain, which tends to be energy-debilitating. Quercetin has been shown to have a powerful analgesic effect on nerves not due to a muscle relaxant or sedative effect, but rather through unique mechanisms that enable nerves to naturally feel less pain. This involves boosting up the production of friendly nitric oxide within the nerves (a natural nerve relaxant), as well as modulating both the serotonin and GABA systems in the brain so as to better tolerate pain.

Another study has shown that these effects are so powerful that quercetin can significantly speed the repair of motor function following spinal cord injury. It was able to significantly regulate the amount of free radical damage within the nerves as well as the immune response to the problem, allowing for a much more orderly process of repair.

A compound called S-100beta is elevated in your blood following central nervous system trauma. In this case the model studied had to do with experimental spinal cord injury, however, such trauma can also be induced by highly stressful events that may lead to post traumatic stress disorder. Following spinal cord injury the administration of quercetin lowered the blood levels of S-100beta and resulted in less nerve damage.

Collectively these studies indicate that quercetin is highly protective to your brain. This is especially true if you are under high stress or pain, and especially if you are feeling anxiety and/or depression. Quercetin works in the direction of helping to restore normal balance within nerve function.