Vivian Rivera, Nilesh Sharma and Joseph Marquardt

Plant foods contain diverse biologically active compounds called phytochemicals, produced by plant species as secondary metabolites. The flavonoid phytochemical group has received much scientific attention in recent years with respect to their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory roles. This investigation examined how quercetin and naringenin, two dietary flavonoids, affect growth of yeast under optimal and stress conditions. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model, a dose dependent inhibitory effect of quercetin and naringenin was observed under optimal conditions. These assays show that these flavonoids have significant effect on yeast growth, with quercetin demonstrating a greater slow growth phenotype. Under stress conditions, quercetin increased the rate of growth thus reducing the stress effect. Since these bioactive chemicals result in slower growth potential in the eukaryotic yeast system under optimal conditions, these findings could illustrate promise for natural therapeutics in growth related diseases such as cancer or inflammatory conditions for humans.

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