Effect of maternal diabetes and quercetin exposure on the oxidative stress and kidney damage in rat's fetus

Purpose: To investigate the prophylactic effects of quercetin on oxidative stress and damage to kidney in rat's fetus harvested from diabetic mothers.Methods: Female Wistar rats were divided to into four experimental groups: control, quercetin, diabetic, and quercetin-treated diabetic groups (6 rats in each group). Experimental diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg) and the female rats were mated with male rats. Thereafter, quercetin was orally administered by oral gavage (75 mg/kg), on 0, 7, 14 and 20 days of gestation. Foetuses were harvested on the 20th day of gestation and their kidneys, removed and the tissues examined biochemically and histopathologically. Subsequently, malondialdehyde (MDA) level, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were measured in the renal tissue.Results: Maternal diabetes delayed fetal kidney development and renal tubular necrosis, and reduced the number of renal glomeruli, while quercetin decreased the level of these changes. Accordingly, the MDA level increased while catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities decreased in diabetic fetal kidney. These biochemical changes were corrected by quercetin.Conclusion: Quercetin has a protective effect on some biochemical and pathological changes in the kidney of foetuses exposed to maternal diabetes.Keywords: Maternal diabetes, Streptozotocin, Quercetin, Renal teratogenicity, Fetu