Carrots were cultivated in Persia for their seeds and leaves as far back as 2000–3000 BC, but historians have found no record of people eating the root until 1 AD. Today, we highly prize the bright orange vegetable for its high carotene content and sweet taste. Because of recent research, though, people are asking one question. Do carrots have quercetin?
Quick Answer: Yes – Carrots do contain quercetin. Compared to other similar foods, its quercetin is low.
Quercetin Content of Carrots
Carrots have an average quercetin concentration of .31mg per 100g. They are also rich in vitamin A, iron, and potassium.
Are Carrots High in Quercetin?
Compared to other foods, carrots are moderately low in quercetin.
Let’s take a look at how they compare to 5 similar foods.
- Red potatoes baked with their skins have 1.43mg of quercetin per 100g, five times that of carrots.
- Yellow onions can have a quercetin content of 42mg per 100g. You would need to eat 30 lbs of carrots to equal the quercetin in one large yellow onion.
- Radishes can provide up to 2.1mg of quercetin in a 100-gram serving, far exceeding what carrots offer.
- One 100g serving of cooked broccoli supplies 1mg of quercetin, roughly equal to 300g of carrots.
- 100g of snap peas provide 2.7mg of quercetin, 2.4mg more than carrots offer.
Sources:
EU Phenol-Explorer http://phenol-explorer.eu/contents/show/1/291/269
USDA Special Interest Databases on Flavonoids https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/usda-special-interest-databases-flavonoids_115
National Library of Medicine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25849945/
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
