Quercetin and Coenzyme Q10: A Comparison study of their Hepatoprotective Effects in Paracetamol-Induced Hepatotoxic Rats

Abstract

The paracetamol overdose results in liver damage and massive hepatocellular necrosis, while quercetin and coenzyme Q10 possess hepatoprotective properties. This investigation aimed to study the comparative hepatoprotective effect between quercetin and coenzyme Q10 in hepatotoxic rats induced by paracetamol. For seven days, 30 male albino rats were assigned randomly to six groups, with each group consisting of 5 rats: control, paracetamol, quercetin (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.), and coenzyme Q10 (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.). Except for the control group, all rats were given a single dosage of paracetamol (2 g/kg, p.o.) after 24 hours, and the next day the blood was collected for biochemical, and the livers were obtained for histological investigations. Paracetamol intoxication rats demonstrated a significant increase in hepatic, kidney dysfunction, and abnormal lipid profiles that significantly improved with quercetin and coenzyme Q10 (p<0.05). In addition, the histopathological liver tissue damage mediated by paracetamol was ameliorated by quercetin and coenzyme Q10, but the best preservation of hepatic morphology was quercetin at 100 mg/kg. Moreover, the preventable groups significantly had less body weight compared to the control and paracetamol groups, most probably due to their hypolipidemic effect. The findings of this study found that quercetin at 100 mg/kg has the highest significant hepatoprotective impact than quercetin at 200 mg/kg and coenzyme Q10 at 100 & 200 mg/kg via improving the liver and kidney function markers and lipid profile