{"url":"https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/quince/reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses","path":"/quince/reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses","alternates":{"json":"https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/api/articles/quince/reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses.json","markdown":"https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/quince/reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses.md"},"topic":{"slug":"quince","name":"Quince","url":"https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/quince"},"slug":"reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses","order":1,"title":"Reflux Relief, Antioxidant Phenolics, and Traditional Uses","question":"Does quince syrup relieve acid reflux and heartburn?","answer":"Quince syrup likely eases reflux symptoms in children and pregnant women about as well as standard acid-reducing drugs, based on two small trials.","description":"How quince fruit, syrup, and seed mucilage support GERD relief, deliver concentrated antioxidants, and aid skin and wound healing","confidence":3,"confidenceNote":"Two four-week RCTs against drugs (80 children, double-blind; 137 pregnant women, open-label) with no placebo arm; other uses rest on animal and lab data.","evidenceSummary":{"rctCount":2,"observationalCount":0,"metaAnalysisCount":0,"totalParticipants":"~220","replicated":true,"newestStudyYear":2022},"category":{"categoryTitle":"What's Good For You","categorySlug":"good-for-you","subcategoryName":"Foods & Drinks","subcategorySlug":"foods","url":"https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/good-for-you/foods"},"actions":["Make quince syrup by simmering sliced quince with sugar and water until thick, or buy 'sharbat-e beh' at Middle Eastern grocers [1].","Traditional adult use is about a tablespoon after meals; trials tested syrup or sauce for four weeks in children and pregnant women [1][2].","Cook quince (poach, bake, paste or jam) rather than eating it raw, and cook with the peel on for more polyphenols [4][5]."],"cautions":["For children (0.6 mL/kg/day in the trial) and during pregnancy, use quince only under appropriate supervision [1].","Never crush, grind or eat quince seeds: the kernels contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic compound; use only the whole-seed soak.","If you have diabetes, monitor blood glucose when using quince regularly, since an additive glucose-lowering effect is plausible."],"simpleText":"Quince (Cydonia oblonga) is a hard, fragrant, golden fruit related to apples and pears that has been used as both food and medicine across Persia, the Mediterranean, and Central Asia for thousands of years. Too astringent to eat raw, it transforms when cooked into rose-scented jams, jellies, and syrups — and it turns out those traditional preparations have real clinical value. Randomized trials show quince syrup eases acid reflux symptoms in children and pregnant women about as well as conventional acid-suppressing drugs [1][2]. The peel and pulp are also exceptionally rich in protective polyphenols [3][4][5], and the gel-like mucilage from the seeds is a folk remedy for wounds and irritated skin that holds up in modern wound-healing studies [6][7].","mediumText":"What's in Quince and Why It Works\n\nQuince is one of those fruits where almost every part — pulp, peel, and seed — does something different. Each tissue contains a distinct set of bioactive compounds that explain its long medicinal history.\n\nPhenolic acids and flavonoids: The pulp and especially the peel are rich in hydroxycinnamic acids — primarily 3-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid) and 5-caffeoylquinic acid — along with quercetin and kaempferol glycosides. Quince peel concentrates antioxidants more densely than pulp, with measured antioxidant capacity comparable to apples and pears at the high end of the Rosaceae family [4][5]. These polyphenols neutralize reactive oxygen species, suppress NF-kB-driven inflammation, and inhibit the alpha-glucosidase enzyme involved in carbohydrate digestion.\n\nProcyanidins and tannins: Quince contains polymeric procyanidins (the same class found in apples, grapes, and cocoa) that contribute to its astringency and to its mucosal-protective effects in the upper GI tract. These compounds form a transient protective film on irritated tissue, which is part of why quince syrup soothes reflux [3].\n\nPectin: Quince is famously high in pectin — so high that it sets jam without added pectin, which is why quince paste (membrillo, cotognata) and quince jelly are traditional foods across Spain, Italy, and the Middle East. Pectin is a soluble fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria, gels in the stomach to slow gastric emptying, and binds to bile acids and certain heavy metals.\n\nSeed mucilage (glucuronoxylan): Quince seeds release a remarkable viscous gel when soaked in water — a complex polysaccharide called glucuronoxylan. This mucilage has been used in Iranian and Greco-Persian medicine for centuries to soothe sore throats, coughs, and burns. Modern studies confirm it accelerates wound healing in animal models and stimulates human skin fibroblast proliferation in vitro [6][7].\n\nOrganic acids and aroma compounds: The fruit contains malic acid, citric acid, and a distinctive set of esters and terpenes that produce its rose-and-honey aroma — particularly noticeable when quinces are baked or cooked into syrup.\n\nReflux and Digestive Soothing\n\nThis is the most clinically validated use of quince. Two randomized controlled trials — one in children, one in pregnant women, populations where conventional reflux medications carry safety concerns — found quince syrup roughly equivalent to standard acid-suppressing drugs.\n\nIn the pediatric trial, 80 children with symptomatic GERD received either quince syrup (0.6 mL/kg/day) or omeprazole syrup (1 mL/kg/day) for four weeks. Both groups showed significant symptom improvement, with quince comparable to omeprazole on heartburn, regurgitation, vomiting, and feeding difficulty scores [1]. In the pregnancy trial, 137 women with GERD received quince sauce (10 mL after meals) or ranitidine (150 mg twice daily) for four weeks; quince actually outperformed ranitidine on mean symptom score by week 2 [2].\n\nThe mechanism appears to be local rather than acid-suppressive. The pectin-mucilage-procyanidin complex forms a viscous coating on the esophageal and gastric mucosa, similar to how pharmaceutical alginates (Gaviscon) work — a physical barrier rather than a metabolic intervention. This explains why the effect is fast (within days) and why it doesn't carry the rebound, microbiome, or nutrient-absorption issues associated with long-term proton pump inhibitor use.\n\nPractical use: traditional quince syrup is made by simmering peeled, sliced quince with sugar and water until reduced to a thick syrup. A tablespoon after meals is the typical adult dose. Commercially, \"sharbat-e beh\" (quince syrup) is available in Middle Eastern grocery stores. Quince paste and jam provide similar benefits at slightly lower doses of active compounds.\n\nSee our Acid Reflux page and our Marshmallow Root page for related approaches to mucosal soothing.\n\nAntioxidants and Cardiovascular Plausibility\n\nQuince ranks among the more antioxidant-dense fruits in the Rosaceae family when measured by total phenolic content, ORAC, and DPPH radical-scavenging assays — particularly when the peel is included [4][5]. The dominant phenolics are chlorogenic acid (the same compound that gives coffee much of its antioxidant activity) and quercetin glycosides.\n\nAnimal studies suggest these compounds translate into meaningful cardiovascular and metabolic effects: quince leaf and fruit extracts reduce LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose in hyperlipidemic and diabetic rats, sometimes at magnitudes comparable to simvastatin [3]. Human trials are limited, though one observational study of a multi-ingredient supplement containing quince extract found improvements in lipid and glycemic markers in adults with metabolic syndrome.\n\nThe honest take: quince is a nutrient-dense whole food with strong preclinical antioxidant data and limited but encouraging human evidence beyond GERD. Eating it cooked into traditional preparations (which preserve the polyphenols better than processing into juice) is a sensible way to add a unique antioxidant profile to the diet, but it shouldn't be marketed as a standalone treatment for cardiovascular disease.\n\nSee our Quercetin page and our Chlorogenic Acid page for the dominant active compounds in quince.\n\nWound Healing and Skin Applications\n\nQuince seed mucilage has a real and surprisingly well-documented wound-healing effect. In a controlled rabbit study, full-thickness skin wounds treated topically with 20% quince seed mucilage closed faster than wounds treated with standard 1% phenytoin cream — a benchmark wound-healing agent — with greater epithelial regeneration and collagen deposition on histological examination [6]. Follow-up in vitro work demonstrated that the mucilage directly stimulates human skin fibroblast proliferation, the cellular basis of new tissue formation [7].\n\nThe mechanism appears to involve a combination of moisture retention (mucilage is highly hydrophilic and creates a moist healing environment, which is the gold standard for modern wound dressings), provision of polysaccharide signaling molecules that activate fibroblast proliferation, and mild antimicrobial effects from associated phenolics. A more recent randomized triple-blind trial found quince seed mucilage gel reduced pain and accelerated healing in postpartum perineal episiotomy wounds compared to placebo.\n\nPractical use: traditional preparation is to soak 1 teaspoon of whole quince seeds in 100 mL of warm water for 1–2 hours until a thick gel forms; the gel can be applied directly to minor wounds, burns, dry skin, or sore throats. Important: only use the mucilage from the outside of the seed — do not crush or grind the seeds, since the kernels (like apple and apricot kernels) contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic compound. The intact whole-seed soak is safe; ground seeds are not.\n\nSee our Aloe Vera page and our Calendula page for related natural wound-care options.\n\nPractical Use\n\nCooked quince fruit: Quinces are inedible raw — too hard and astringent — but become fragrant and pink-tinged when slow-cooked. Poach in water with a little sugar and lemon, or bake whole until tender. One medium cooked quince provides roughly 10 g of fiber (much of it pectin), modest vitamin C, and a substantial dose of polyphenols.\n\nQuince paste (membrillo, cotognata): A traditional Spanish and Italian preparation pairing the cooked, sweetened paste with aged cheese. Provides concentrated polyphenols and pectin in small servings.\n\nQuince syrup (sharbat-e beh): The clinically tested form for reflux. A tablespoon after meals as needed, or 0.6 mL/kg/day for children with GERD under appropriate supervision.\n\nQuince seed gel: Soak whole quince seeds in warm water; use the resulting mucilage topically for skin and wound care, or as a soothing throat preparation. Do not crush the seeds.\n\nSafety: Cooked quince and quince syrup are very safe foods with millennia of culinary use. The seeds themselves are safe when used whole for mucilage extraction but should never be eaten or ground due to amygdalin content. There are no significant drug interactions established. Diabetic patients using quince therapeutically should monitor blood glucose, since the additive hypoglycemic effect with diabetes medications is plausible at high intake.","deepText":"Evidence Review\n\nPediatric GERD Trial: Quince Syrup vs. Omeprazole (Zohalinezhad et al., 2015)\n\nThis double-blind randomized controlled trial enrolled 80 children aged 2–18 with diagnosed gastroesophageal reflux disease and randomized them to receive either quince syrup (0.6 mL/kg/day, in two divided doses) or omeprazole syrup (1 mL/kg/day) for four weeks [1]. Symptom severity was assessed at baseline, two weeks, and four weeks using a validated GERD symptom questionnaire covering heartburn, regurgitation, epigastric pain, vomiting, dysphagia, and feeding difficulties.\n\nBoth groups showed statistically significant within-group improvement on every symptom domain by week 4. When the two groups were compared head-to-head, no significant difference emerged between quince and omeprazole on the primary symptom score — the quince group was non-inferior across the board. Quince showed a slight numerical advantage on feeding difficulty and vomiting, while omeprazole had a slight numerical advantage on heartburn, but neither reached statistical significance. No adverse events were reported in either arm.\n\nThe clinical significance is meaningful in this population: long-term proton pump inhibitor use in children has been associated with increased risk of respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, micronutrient malabsorption, and altered gut microbiome composition. A locally acting, food-based alternative that performs comparably is a useful option for clinicians and families. Limitations: single-center trial, four-week duration (no data on durability of effect after discontinuation), and the population included a wide age range that limits subgroup analysis.\n\nPregnancy GERD Trial: Quince Sauce vs. Ranitidine (Shakeri et al., 2018)\n\nThis randomized open-label active-controlled trial enrolled 137 pregnant women experiencing symptomatic GERD and assigned them to receive either quince sauce (10 g after each main meal, three times daily) or ranitidine (150 mg twice daily) for four weeks [2]. The primary outcome was the GERD symptom score; outcomes were assessed at baseline, week 2, and week 4.\n\nBoth groups improved substantially from baseline. At the week 2 assessment, the quince group had a significantly lower mean symptom score than the ranitidine group (p = 0.036) — quince was actually performing better at the interim point. By week 4, both treatments produced similar overall symptom relief, with no significant between-group difference. Side effects were rare in both groups, with no serious adverse events.\n\nThe pregnancy context is particularly important. Roughly 40–80% of pregnant women experience GERD, and pharmacological options are constrained by safety concerns. Ranitidine has since been withdrawn in many markets due to NDMA contamination concerns, and PPIs in pregnancy have been associated with mixed signals on neonatal outcomes. A food-based intervention with millennia of safe culinary use during pregnancy fills a real clinical gap.\n\nLimitations: open-label design (no placebo blinding), single-center, and the specific quince preparation (boiled with sugar to a sauce consistency) is not fully standardized between batches in real-world use. Nonetheless, the demonstration of non-inferiority to a standard pharmaceutical agent in this difficult-to-treat population is clinically meaningful.\n\nPhytochemistry and Pharmacology Review (Ashraf et al., 2016)\n\nThis Frontiers in Pharmacology comprehensive review catalogued the chemistry and pharmacology of Cydonia oblonga based on the published literature through 2015 [3]. The review identified the major active compound classes — phenolic acids (chlorogenic acids, caffeic acid derivatives), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin glycosides), procyanidins, organic acids (malic, quinic, citric, shikimic), pectin, and the seed-specific glucuronoxylan mucilage — and their distribution across pulp, peel, leaves, and seeds.\n\nDocumented pharmacological activities reviewed included antioxidant (consistent across multiple in vitro and animal studies), anti-inflammatory (NF-kB suppression and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression), antimicrobial (notable activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at moderate concentrations), antiulcer and gastroprotective (mucosal coating and acid neutralization mechanisms), antihypertensive (consistent in spontaneously hypertensive rat models), antidiabetic (alpha-glucosidase inhibition and improved insulin sensitivity in animal models), and antitussive/expectorant (the historical basis for quince's use in cough preparations).\n\nThe review noted that the leaves and the seed mucilage have distinct activity profiles from the fruit, with leaves rich in additional flavonoids and the seeds providing the unique glucuronoxylan polysaccharide. The authors explicitly identified the gap between robust traditional and preclinical evidence and the limited number of human clinical trials, recommending GERD, hyperlipidemia, and wound healing as the highest-priority targets for clinical research.\n\nPhenolic Profile and Anti-Inflammatory Activity (Herrera-Rocha et al., 2022)\n\nThis Molecules study used HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS quantitative analysis to characterize the phenolic profile of quince acetonic extracts and tested their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro [4]. The total phenolic content of the peel was significantly higher than the pulp (peel approximately 3–4 times more concentrated), with chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid) as the most abundant single phenolic compound, followed by 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside. …","deepTruncated":true,"references":[{"id":"1","title":"Effects of Quince syrup on clinical symptoms of children with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease: A double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial","authors":"Zohalinezhad ME, Imanieh MH, Samani SM, Mohagheghzadeh A, Dehghani SM, Haghighat M, Salehi A, Faridi P, Akbarzadeh AR","year":2015,"journal":"Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice","pmid":"26573454","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26573454/"},{"id":"2","title":"A comparative study of ranitidine and quince (Cydonia oblonga mill) sauce on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in pregnancy: a randomised, open-label, active-controlled clinical trial","authors":"Shakeri A, Hashempur MH, Mojibian M, Aliasl F, Bioos S, Nejatbakhsh F","year":2018,"journal":"Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology","pmid":"29553843","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29553843/"},{"id":"3","title":"Cydonia oblonga M., A Medicinal Plant Rich in Phytonutrients for Pharmaceuticals","authors":"Ashraf MU, Muhammad G, Hussain MA, Bukhari SNA","year":2016,"journal":"Frontiers in Pharmacology","pmid":"27445806","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27445806/"},{"id":"4","title":"Phenolic Acids and Flavonoids in Acetonic Extract from Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.): Nutraceuticals with Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Potential","authors":"Herrera-Rocha KM, Rocha-Guzmán NE, Gallegos-Infante JA, González-Laredo RF, Larrosa-Pérez M, Moreno-Jiménez MR","year":2022,"journal":"Molecules","pmid":"35458657","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35458657/"},{"id":"5","title":"Preliminary evaluation of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) fruit as extraction source of antioxidant phytoconstituents for nutraceutical and functional food applications","authors":"Sut S, Dall'Acqua S, Poloniato G, Maggi F, Malagoli M","year":2019,"journal":"Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture","pmid":"30014572","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30014572/"},{"id":"6","title":"Wound healing properties of quince seed mucilage: in vivo evaluation in rabbit full-thickness wound model","authors":"Tamri P, Hemmati A, Boroujerdnia MG","year":2014,"journal":"International Journal of Surgery","pmid":"25017948","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25017948/"},{"id":"7","title":"Enhancement of human skin fibroblasts proliferation as a result of treating with quince seed mucilage","authors":"Ghafourian M, Tamri P, Hemmati A","year":2015,"journal":"Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products","pmid":"25866719","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25866719/"}],"wordCount":2943,"source":{"path":"src/content/topics/quince/reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses.md"},"citeAs":"“Does quince syrup relieve acid reflux and heartburn?.” What's Healthy and Why. https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/quince/reflux-antioxidants-and-traditional-uses","notice":"General information backed by peer-reviewed research, not medical advice."}