It is well known that feeding a toxic substance can activate metabolic pathways that can detox other unrelated toxins.  In this case quercetin is fairly toxic.  It is about 25 times less toxic than sodium cyanide and about 21 times more toxic than table salt for instance in mammals.  So, it is of zero surprise to me that feeding a diet with the toxin quercetin in it that you find some pesticides are also metabolized better than in the absence of quercetin.  The last I knew the one remaining legal use for DDT in the US was for exactly this same type of use.  It was registered by FDA as an antidote to some specific kinds of acute chemical poisons in humans as DDT is hard to metabolize and induces the liver to kick into high gear getting rid of the DDT and as a total by product also gets rid of the acutely toxic materials at the same time.  Based on the logic in this bee publication I guess the government should recommend some minimum daily consumption of DDT by humans to help protect their health.

In my opinion this study gives misleading conclusions and as a result is miserably poor science and should never have hit print.

Dick
--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 3/2/17, Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

 Subject: [BEE-L] New evidence favoring natural diets for bees
 To: [log in to unmask]
 Date: Thursday, March 2, 2017, 12:15 PM
 
 New evidence favoring natural diets
 for bees:
 
 In this study, p-coumaric acid and quercetin, ubiquitous
 phytochemicals in the natural diet of
 honey bees, generally have a beneficial effect on honey bee
 longevity, most dramatically in the case of
 dietary quercetin in the presence of two pyrethroid
 insecticides. 
 
 Previous studies have shown that,
 in honey bees, malnutrition can increase sensitivity to
 pesticides [36], reduce immunocompetence [37]
 and alter gene expression in protein metabolism and
 oxidation-reduction in fat body [38]. 
 
 Together, these findings suggest that substituting sugar
 syrups for honey or yeast/soy flour patties for pollen
 may not only cause malnutrition but may also have
 unanticipated effects on lifespan in the presence
 of environmental stressors. 
 
 Liao, Ling-Hsiu, Wen-Yen Wu, and May R. Berenbaum. "Impacts
 of Dietary Phytochemicals in the Presence and Absence of
 Pesticides on Longevity of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)."
 Insects 8.1 (2017): 22.
 
          
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