Aspects of quercetin stability and its liposomal enhancement in yellow onion skin extracts

Quercetin is a flavonoid that occurs in many types of fruit and vegetables and is stable for no longer than 4.5 h in the investigated pH range (6.0-8.0), even at 4 °C in the dark. At higher temperatures, the degradation/oxidation process is much faster. Simple but effective proliposomal encapsulation was used to protect the quercetin from environmental conditions such as pH. With this approach, 65 to 90% of pure quercetin and quercetin-rich onion extract was kept after >60 days under conditions that favoured its oxidation (pH 7.4). In addition, the encapsulated quercetin decreases the lipid peroxidation induced by pulsed UV light by >50%. At a mass ratio of 1:100 quercetin to lipids (w/w), the liposomes remained intact in solutions for six months. Quercetin in lipid bilayers simultaneously protects the unsaturated lipids from peroxidation.