The effect of quercetin on systemic inflammatory response and metabolism in rats under surgical and prolonged psychogenic stress

Roman Ryabushko; Heorhii Kostenko; Oleksandr Shkidchenko; Vitalii Kostenko

Roman Ryabushko Department of Pathophysiology, Poltava State Medical University, Poltava, Ukraine
Heorhii Kostenko Department of Pathophysiology, Poltava State Medical University, Poltava, Ukraine
Oleksandr Shkidchenko Department of Pathophysiology, Poltava State Medical University, Poltava, Ukraine
Vitalii Kostenko Department of Pathophysiology, Poltava State Medical University, Poltava, Ukraine

Keywords: quercetin, prolonged psychogenic stress, surgical trauma, systemic inflammatory response, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia

Abstract

Prolonged psychogenic stress resembling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), combined with surgical trauma, induces systemic inflammatory and metabolic disturbances. Quercetin, a natural polyphenol with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may attenuate these effects. This study evaluated the effects of water-soluble quercetin on systemic inflammatory response (SIR), carbohydrate metabolism, and lipid metabolism in rats subjected to surgical trauma following Single Prolonged Stress (SPS). Twenty-one adult male Wistar rats were allocated to three groups (n=7): control animals receiving polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), SPS plus surgical trauma animals receiving PVP, and SPS plus surgical trauma animals receiving a water-soluble quercetin–PVP complex equivalent to 20 mg/kg quercetin. Treatments were administered intragastrically for 7 days. Serum cortisol, ceruloplasmin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukins (IL-6 and IL-10), glucose, insulin, and lipid profile parameters were assessed using spectrophotometric and ELISA methods. Combined SPS and surgical trauma induced marked hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activation, systemic inflammation, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. Quercetin reduced serum cortisol and ceruloplasmin levels and markedly decreased TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations, while restoring the IL-10/IL-6 ratio toward control values. Quercetin also reduced blood glucose and HOMA-IR, although insulin levels remained elevated compared with controls. Lipid abnormalities were partially corrected, as evidenced by increased HDL cholesterol and decreased triglyceride and VLDL cholesterol levels, without significant changes in total or LDL cholesterol. Water-soluble quercetin attenuated stress- and surgery-induced inflammatory and metabolic disturbances, suggesting potential as an adjunctive strategy for reducing systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic alterations associated with combined psychological and surgical stress.