Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, 6439 Garners Ferry Rd., Columbia, SC, 29209, USA.
AcePre, LLC, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2022 Oct 23;22(1):279. doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03758-z.
Quercetin is an organic flavonoid present in several fruits and vegetables. The anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant, cardio-protective, anti-carcinogenic and neuroprotective properties demonstrated by this dietary supplement endorses it as a possible treatment for inflammatory diseases and cancer. Unfortunately, conflicting research has cast uncertainties on the toxicity of quercetin. The main purpose of this study was to determine if quercetin has any toxic properties in mice at doses that have shown efficacy in pre-clinical studies regarding cancer, cancer therapy, and their off-target effects.
A sub-chronic toxicity study of quercetin was examined in male and female CD2F1 mice. Three different doses of quercetin (62, 125, and 250 mg/kg of diet) were infused into the AIN-76A purified diet and administered to mice ad libitum for 98 days. Body weight (BW), food consumption, water intake, body composition, blood count, behavior, and metabolic phenotype were assessed at various timepoints during the course of the experiment. Tissue and organs were evaluated for gross pathological changes and plasma was used to measure alkaline phosphatase (AP), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alanine transaminase (ALT).
We found that low (62 mg/kg of diet), medium (125 mg/kg of diet), and high (250 mg/kg of diet) quercetin feeding had no discernible effect on body composition, organ function, behavior or metabolism.
In summary, our study establishes that quercetin is safe for use in both female and male CD2F1 mice when given at ~ 12.5, 25, or 50 mg/kg of BW daily doses for 14 weeks (i.e. 98 days). Further studies will need to be conducted to determine any potential toxicity of quercetin following chronic ingestion.
槲皮素是存在于几种水果和蔬菜中的有机类黄酮。这种膳食补充剂具有抗炎、抗病毒、抗氧化、心脏保护、抗癌和神经保护特性，因此被认为是治疗炎症性疾病和癌症的一种可能方法。不幸的是，相互矛盾的研究对槲皮素的毒性提出了质疑。本研究的主要目的是确定在已显示出对癌症、癌症治疗及其非靶向效应有疗效的临床前研究剂量下，槲皮素是否对小鼠具有任何毒性。
对雄性和雌性 CD2F1 小鼠进行了槲皮素亚慢性毒性研究。将三种不同剂量的槲皮素（62、125 和 250mg/kg 饮食）注入 AIN-76A 纯化饮食中，并自由喂食小鼠 98 天。在实验过程中的不同时间点评估体重（BW）、食物消耗、水摄入、身体成分、血液计数、行为和代谢表型。评估组织和器官的大体病理变化，并用血浆测量碱性磷酸酶（AP）、天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）和丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）。
我们发现，低（62mg/kg 饮食）、中（125mg/kg 饮食）和高（250mg/kg 饮食）槲皮素喂养对身体成分、器官功能、行为或代谢没有明显影响。
总之，我们的研究表明，当以每天约 12.5、25 或 50mg/kg BW 的剂量给予雌性和雄性 CD2F1 小鼠 14 周（即 98 天）时，槲皮素使用是安全的。需要进一步的研究来确定慢性摄入槲皮素后的任何潜在毒性。
