Protective Effect Of Curcumin And Quercetin On Sepsis Rats

Objective To explore the protective effect of curcumin and quercetin on sepsis rats.Methods One hundred and thirty two rats were randomly divided into CLP group (group A), sham-operated group (group B), quercetin groups (group C1and C2, the dosage of100mg/kg and50mg/kg respectively), curcumin groups (group Dl and D2, the dosage of100mg/kg and50mg/kg respectively), quercetin plus curcum groups (group E1-50mg/kg of quercetin plus100mg/kg of curcumin, group E2-50mg/kg of quercetin plus50mg/kg of curcumin, group E3-100mg/kg of quercetin plus50mg/kg of curcumin, group E4-100mg/kg of quercetin plus100mg/kg of curcumin), control group (group F). CLP were used to make a sepsis animal model. Six rats in each group were observed the survival time after CLP. The others in each group were sacrificed on24h after operation and recorded the Sepsis Score. Serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and albumin(Alb) were determined at the same time point. Tissues from liver and kidney were resected and histopathological characteristic was observed by light microscopy. And tissues from liver also used ELISA and Real-time PCR to detect the levels of IL-6、TNF-α and mRNA expression of PPAR-y and NF-κB.Results①In group A, the morphological structures in liver and kidney were damaged; In groups of medicine prevention, the damages were remited.②Compared with group F, group A showed a increment in ALT, AST, BUN, Cr, and Alb; In groups of medicine prevention all attenuated this rise (P<0.05for each analysis); Except the levels of BUN and Alb, group E4levels were less than those of group C or D (P<0.05for each analysis), but there were statistically significantly different from group F (P<0.05).③The Sepsis Score in group A was higher than group B and F (P<0.05); Compared with medicine prevention groups, the median survival time was significantly shorten in group A (P<0.05); Compared with group A, the Sepsis Score of medicine prevention groups was significantly decreased, especially in group E4(P<0.05).④Compared with group A, the levels of TNF-a and IL-6were obviously decreased in medicine prevention groups; there were significant differences between group E4and group C、D(P<0.05).⑤In groups of medicine prevention groups, the NF-κB mRNA expressions were greater and PPAR-y mRNA expressions showed a descent than group A(P<0.05for each analysis); there were statistically significantly differents between group E4and group C、D(P<0.05).⑥Sepsis score and TNF-α、 IL-6level were positively correlated (correlation coefficients were0.852,0.878, P<0.01); NF-κB mRNA expression and TNF-α、IL-6level were positively correlated (correlation coefficients were0.852,0.848, P<0.01); NF-κB and PPAR-y mRNA expression was negative correlated (correlation coefficients were-0.705, P<0.01).Conclusions Quercetin and curcumin can effectively protect the function of liver and kidney through up-regulating the expression of PPAR-y and down-regulating the expression of NF-κB to decrease the levels of TNF-a and IL-6, and to alleviate inflammation. Meanwhile the protective effect of quercetin plus curcumin group is stronger than that of quercetin group or curcumin group only.