Quercetin as an inhibitor of hemoglobin-mediated lipid oxidation: Mechanisms of action and use of molecular docking

•Quercetin strongly inhibited hemoglobin(Hb)-mediated lipid oxidation in washed muscle.•Quercetin could reduce metHb resulting in formation of oxyHb.•ESI-MS indicated one molecule of quercetin was covalently bound to Hb α-chain.•Bound quercetin limited heme loss to reduce the lipid oxidation capacity of Hb.•Molecular docking represents a valuable tool to complement other analytical methods.