Experimental study on the protective effect and safety of different doses of quercetin on the intestinal barrier in sepsis

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Author: FENG Mingzhi ^1, ² SUN Yan ²  ZHANG Jun ^1, ³

Affiliation: 1. School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310013, China 2. Department of Gastroenterology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310014, China 3. Department of Gastroenterology, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310003, China

Keywords: Quercetin Sepsis Intestinal epithelial barrier Anti-inflammatory Infection

DOI: 10.12173/j.issn.1005-0698.202510069

Reference: Feng MZ, Sun Y, Zhang J. Experimental study on the protective effect and safety of different doses of quercetin on the intestinal barrier in sepsis[J]. Chinese Journal of Pharmacoepidemiology, 2026, 35(5): 517-525. DOI: 10.12173/j.issn.1005-0698.202510069.[Article in Chinese]  Copied

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Abstract

Objective To investigate the protective effect of quercetin (QCT) on intestinal injury in a mouse model of sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Methods Male C57BL/6 mice were used to construct the sepsis model. Mice were gavaged with QCT at concentrations of 20, 40 and 80 mg·kg^-1 three days in advance, and then lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 mg·kg^-1) was injected intraperitoneally on the 4th day to establish the sepsis model. The mice were divided into eight groups (n=6): Control, Model (LPS), LPS+20 mg·kg^-1 QCT, LPS+40 mg·kg^-1 QCT, LPS+80 mg·kg^-1 QCT, and three single QCT groups (20, 40, 80 mg·kg^-1). Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to analyze the histopathology of the liver, spleen, lung, and kidney tissues from the single QCT group of mice, to evaluate the drug safety of QCT. The remaining five groups analyzed the histological structure of the small intestine and evaluated the efficacy of the drugs. The weight changes of mice in each group were observed; inflammatory factors were detected using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; fluorescence staining method was used to detect reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the intestinal tract; and expression of intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins was determined by Western blot; reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to detect the mRNA levels of COX-2 and iNOS.

Results Compared with the model group, the LPS + QCT (20, 40, and 80 mg·kg^-1) groups treatment led to a reduced weight loss in mice, significantly inhibited the levels of inflammatory factors in the serum of mice, decreased the ROS level in the intestinal tract of mice, and reduced the mRNA expression of COX-2 and iNOS. Moreover, the HE and Western blot results indicated that the intestinal villi of mice recovered, and the expression of tight junction proteins in the intestinal barrier increased. Among them, the effect of the group with 40 mg·kg^-1 QCT was the most significant.

Conclusion QCT can exert protective effects in the sepsis mouse model, reducing the inflammatory levels of the mice, alleviating the intestinal damage of the mice, and the therapeutic effect of 40 mg·kg^-1 QCT is the optimal dose in this study.

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