Current Knowledge of the Health-promoting Effects of Fustin – a Mini-review

Fustin is a bioactive flavanonol, found in high concentrations in Cotinus coggygria (European smoketree) heartwood and in Toxicodendron vernicifluum (lacquer tree) [1]. However, little is known about its health benefits. The objective of this paper was to summarize the current evidence about the health-promoting effects of fustin, registered in animal and human studies. In order to sum up the available data, a research was carried out in the global database Pubmed for published articles, related to the topic, in the period between 2015 and January 2024 using the keyword “fustin”. A total of 64 articles were found and after careful reviewing, 53 of them were ruled out due to lack of relevance to the topic. Fustin was documented to exert ulcer-preventive [2], anticancer [3], antidiabetic [3], antibacterial [3] and neuroprotective [4] effects in experimental studies. Clinical trials were scarce and anti-fibrotic effect was the only pharmacological activity documented in one human study [5]. These effects were ascribed to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the flavonoid [6]. Additional studies are required to investigate the health-beneficial effects of fustin both in experimental and clinical settings.