Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench, F. tataricum Gaertner) groats and flour have been established globally as nutritional foods because of their high levels of proteins, polyphenols and minerals. In some regions, buckwheat herb is used as a functional food. In the present study, reports of in vitro studies, preclinical and clinical trials dealing with the effect of buckwheat and its metabolites were reviewed. There are numerous reports of potential health benefits of consuming buckwheat, which may be in the form of food, dietary supplements, home remedies or possibly pharmaceutical drugs; however, adverse effects, including those resulting from contamination, must be considered. There are reports of antioxidative activity of buckwheat, which contains high levels of rutin and quercetin. On the other hand, both cytotoxic and antigenotoxic effects have been shown. Reduction of hyperlipidaemia, reduction of blood pressure and improved weight regulation have been suggested. Consuming buckwheat may have a beneficial effect on diabetes, since lower postprandial blood glucose and insulin response have been reported. In addition, buckwheat metabolites, such as rutin, may have intrinsic protective effects in preserving insulin signalling. Rutin has also been suggested to have potential therapeutic applications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The literature indicates that buckwheat is safe to consume and may have various beneficial effects on human health.

Formation of advanced glycation end products (AGE) plays a key role in the several pathophysiologies associated with ageing and diabetes, such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, chronic renal insufficiency, Alzheimer's disease, nephropathy, neuropathy and cataract. This raises the possibility of inhibition of AGE formation as one of the approaches to prevent or arrest the progression of diabetic complications. Previously, we have reported that some common dietary sources such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices have the potential to inhibit AGE formation. Flavonoids are abundantly found in fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, and rutin is one of the commonly found dietary flavonols. In the present study, we have demonstrated the antiglycating potential and mechanism of action of rutin using goat eye lens proteins as model proteins. Under in vitro conditions, rutin inhibited glycation as assessed by SDS-PAGE, AGE-fluorescence, boronate affinity chromatography and immunodetection of specific AGE. Further, we provided insight into the mechanism of inhibition of protein glycation that rutin not only scavenges free-radicals directly but also chelates the metal ions by forming complexes with them and thereby partly inhibiting post-Amadori formation. These findings indicate the potential of rutin to prevent and/or inhibit protein glycation and the prospects for controlling AGE-mediated diabetic pathological conditions in vivo.

Damage of the intestinal epithelial barrier by xenobiotics or reactive oxygen species and a dysregulated immune response are both factors involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Curcumin and rutin are polyphenolic compounds known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, but their mechanism(s) of action are yet to be fully elucidated. Multidrug resistance gene-deficient (mdr1a− / − ) mice spontaneously develop intestinal inflammation, predominantly in the colon, with pathology similar to IBD, so this mouse model is relevant for studying diet–gene interactions and potential effects of foods on remission or development of IBD. The present study tested whether the addition of curcumin or rutin to the diet would alleviate colonic inflammation in mdr1a− / −  mice. Using whole-genome microarrays, the effect of dietary curcumin on gene expression in colon tissue was also investigated. Twelve mice were randomly assigned to each of three diets (control (AIN-76A), control +0·2 % curcumin or control +0·1 % rutin) and monitored from the age of 7 to 24 weeks. Curcumin, but not rutin, significantly reduced histological signs of colonic inflammation in mdr1a− / −  mice. Microarray and pathway analyses suggested that the effect of dietary curcumin on colon inflammation could be via an up-regulation of xenobiotic metabolism and a down-regulation of pro-inflammatory pathways, probably mediated by pregnane X receptor (Pxr) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (Ppara) activation of retinoid X receptor (Rxr). These results indicate the potential of global gene expression and pathway analyses to study and better understand the effect of foods in modulating colonic inflammation.

The aim of the present study was to determine, by a field experiment, whether the seasonal variations in the levels of cyanide and rutin in the phloem, secondary compounds potentially implicated in cassava resistance to the cassava mealybug (Phenaccocus manihoti), could be influenced by different kinds of soil fertilisation (manure, NPK, KC1, lime, mulch). It was found that mean cyanide and rutin contents varied significantly with season, soil treatments and infestation. For each soil treatment, the highest contents of these compounds on uninfested plants was registered in the main dry season (Jul-Aug) for cyanide and at the end of the dry season (Jul-Aug) and beginning of the rainy season (Oct-Nov) for rutin. The infestation factor induced an increase in cyanide and rutin contents for 43 combinations of period and soil treatment among 48 in total. For cyanide content (phagostimulant function in mealybug), this increase appeared significant at the end of the rainy season (Apr-May) and in the main dry season (Jul-Aug) for control and KC1 fertilisation. For rutin content (an unfavourable substance for the insect) significant increase was induced by infestation in each period for manure and mulch and especially in the main dry season (Jul-Aug) and at the beginning of the rainy season (Oct-Nov) for other soil treatments. Concerning the seasonal variations in the level of rutin, these results showed that mulch and manure are the best fertilisers to increase cassava resistance against mealybugs.