Protective Effects of Quercetin on Livers from Mice Exposed to Long‐Term Cigarette Smoke
Pedro Alves Machado-Júnior, Natália Pereira da Silva Araújo, Ana Beatriz Farias de Souza, Thalles de Freitas Castro, Michel Oliveira, Guilherme de Paula Costa, Natália Alves de Matos, Paula Melo de Abreu Vieira, André Talvani, Frank Silva Bezerra, Sílvia Dantas Cangussú
Abstract
Cigarette smoke is highly toxic, and it can promote increased production of reactive species and inflammatory response and leads to liver diseases. Quercetin is a flavonoid that displays antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in liver diseases. This study aimed at evaluating the protective effects of quercetin on livers from mice exposed to long-term cigarette smoke exposure. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into five groups: control (CG), vehicle (VG), quercetin (QG), cigarette smoke (CSG), quercetin, and cigarette smoke (QCSG). CSG and QCSG were exposed to cigarette smoke for sixty consecutive days; at the end of the exposures, all animals were euthanized. Mice that received quercetin daily and were exposed to cigarette smoke showed a reduced influx of inflammatory cells, oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction, and histopathological changes in the liver, compared to CSG. These results suggest that quercetin may be an effective adjuvant for treating damage to the liver due to cigarette smoke exposure.