Comparison of antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity of quercetin, isoquercitrin and rutin against alcohol‐induced liver injury in HepG2 Cells

The dietary flavonoids and their glycosides are the most vital phytochemicals in diets and are of great general interest due to their diverse bioactivities. The natural flavonoids almost all exist as their O ‐glycoside or C ‐glycoside forms in plants. Quercetin and quercetin glycosides (isoquercitrin, rutin) are strong polyphenolic antioxidants abundant in plants and human diets. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is considered to be a major factor in oxidative cell injury. The antioxidant activity or the inhibition of the generation of free radicals is important in providing protection against such hepatic damages. In this study, we compared the hepatoprotective activity of quercetin, quercetin‐3‐glucoside and rutin on alcohol‐induced liver damage in HepG2 cells. Treatment with quercetin and its glycosides prevented alcohol‐induced alterations in hepatic aminotransferases, hepatic lipid peroxides, antioxidant enzymes and pro‐inflammatory factors as well as ROS generation. Nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2), the main regulator of endogenous antioxidant enzymes was significantly induced by quercetin. These results indicate that quercetin and its derivatives might be beneficial in mitigating alcohol‐induced liver diseases through the enhancement of phase II and antioxidant gene expressions via Nrf2 activation; thereby modulating the oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in hepatocytes. Furthermore, it was found that quercetin showed higher hepatoprotective activity than quercetin glycosides. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .