Investigating the Protective Effects of Quercetin Against Doxorubicin Cardiotoxicity in Rats

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Doxorubicin is an anthracycline and is an effective anti-cancer drug. Due to acute and chronic side effects of this drug, including cardiotoxicity, its clinical use is limited. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect of quercetin on cardiotoxicity caused by doxorubicin. In this study, Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups. In one control group, rats received saline solution (1 mL/kg), and in the other control group (containing quercetin) DMSO solution (1 mL/kg) by gavage for 14 days. In the quercetin group, animals received quercetin (20 mg/kg) by gavage for 14 days. In the doxorubicin group, animals received doxorubicin (25 mg/kg) intraperitoneal for 3 days. In the pretreatment group with quercetin, rats received quercetin (20 mg/kg) by gavage and doxorubicin (25 mg/kg) intraperitoneal for 14 days. After determining the weight, the mice were killed and the heart tissue sample was prepared for analysis. Based on the results obtained from this study, significant weight loss was reported in animals receiving doxorubicin (P < 0.05). However, pretreatment with quercetin prevented the weight loss of animals in the doxorubicin group. Pathological examination of heart tissue showed that quercetin has a protective effect against heart damage caused by doxorubicin. In general, it can be concluded from the results of this study that pretreatment with quercetin can prevent the occurrence of cardiotoxicity caused by doxorubicin, which probably caused cardiac protection through its antioxidant properties.