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Abstract

The present study was undertaken to elucidate the intervention of quercetin against high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) using male Sprague Dawley rats as an animal model. This study was also programmed to compare and correlate the effect of both quercetin (flavonoid) and dexamethasone (steroid) against HACE. Six groups of animals were designed for this experiment, (I) Normoxia, (II) Hypoxia (25, 000 ft, 24 h), (III) Normoxia + quercetin (50 mg/ kg body wt), (IV) Normoxia + dexamethasone (4 mg/kg body wt), (V) Hypoxia + quercetin (50 mg/kg body wt), (VI) Hypoxia + dexamethasone (4 mg/kg body wt). Quercetin at 50 mg/kg body wt, orally 1 h prior to hypoxia exposure was considered as the optimum dose, due to significant reduction in the level of brain water content and cerebral transvascular leakage (P<0.001), as compared to control (24 h hypoxia). Dexamethasone was administered at 4 mg/kg body wt, orally, 1 h prior to hypoxia exposure. Both the drugs (quercetin and dexamethasone) could efficiently reduce the hypoxia induced haematological changes. Quercetin was observed to be a more potent anti oxidative and anti inflammatory agent. It effectively blocks the nuclear factor kappa-beta (NFκB) significantly (P<0.05) than that of the dexamethasone administered hypoxia exposed rats. Histopathological finding demonstrates absence of an edema and inflammation in the brain sections of quercetin administered hypoxia exposed rats. The present study reveals quercetin to be a potent drug against HACE, as it efficiently attenuates inflammation as well as cerebral edema formation without any side effects of steroid therapy (dexamethasone).