Carcinogenicity examination of quercetin and rutin in ACI rats.

Carcinogenicity of quercetin and rutin were examined in inbred ACI strain rats. Rats were given a diet containing 1% or 5% quercetin or 5% rutin for 540 days, or 10% quercetin and 10% rutin for 850 days. Rats in control groups were fed a normal basal diet. Most tumors found in experimental groups were also found in the corresponding control groups. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the incidence of tumors in the experimental or control groups (P greater than 0.05). Thus, quercetin and rutin tested were not shown to be carcinogenic to ACI rats.