The Effects and Mechanism of Quercetin Dietary Supplementation in Streptozotocin-Induced Hyperglycemic Arbor Acre Broilers

Abstract

Quercetin, a flavonoid found in fruits and vegetables, is widely distributed as a secondary metabolite in the plant kingdom. Oxidative stress plays a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus (DM). The present study investigated the effects of quercetin dietary supplementation on streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced hyperglycemic Arbor Acre (AA) broilers by determining the levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), biochemical indicators, oxidative stress markers, inflammatory cytokines content, antioxidant enzymes activities in tissues, and mRNA expression of genes relating to the insulin signaling pathway. Three hundred one-day-old healthy AA broilers were randomly assigned into 5 treatments; A, control healthy broilers; B, STZ-induced broilers; C, STZ-induced broiler dietary supplemented with 0.02% quercetin; D, STZ-induced broiler dietary supplemented with 0.04% quercetin; and E, STZ-induced broiler dietary supplemented with 0.06% quercetin. The results showed that quercetin supplementation relieved the side effects of STZ-induced oxidative stress by changing activities of antioxidant enzymes, decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels, activating expression of genes relating to PI3K/PKB signaling pathway that modulate glucose metabolism and reduce oxidative damage, thereby decreasing FBG and increasing FINS levels. These findings suggest that quercetin exhibits a protective effect in STZ-induced hyperglycemic AA broilers via decreasing oxidative stress.

Effect of Quercetin on Lipids Metabolism Through Modulating the Gut Microbial and AMPK/PPAR Signaling Pathway in Broilers

“…In the current study, 0.2 g/kg quercetin supplementation significantly increased mRNA and protein expression of PI3K and protein expression of PKB ( P < 0.01, P < 0.05); 0.6 g/kg quercetin supplementation significantly increased protein expression of PI3K and PKB ( P < 0.01, P < 0.01) ( Figures 2 , 3 ). Taken together, in line with the previous research that quercetin improved lipid metabolism and reduced abdominal fat deposition by activating PI3K/PKB signal pathway ( Ying et al, 2020 ). And together with the results of AMPK in this experiment, our findings indicated that quercetin increased the expression of AMPK via stimulating PI3K-PKB/AKT kinase activity.…”

Quercetin: Its Main Pharmacological Activity and Potential Application in Clinical Medicine

“…Quercetin is used to prevent obesity-induced muscle inflammation and sarcopenia [ 119 ]. Ying et al [ 120 ] suggested that quercetin can decrease the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and NO by changing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, activating the expression of PI3K/PKB signalling pathway-related genes, regulates glucose metabolism, reduces oxidative damage, and has a protective effect on ascorbic acid therapy.…”

Quercetin extracted from Sophora japonica flower improves growth performance, nutrient digestibility, cecal microbiota, organ indexes, and breast quality in broiler chicks

“…Quercetin could reduce lipid deposition in broiler chicks by promoting PPARα-regulated lipid decomposition [38], reducing the expression levels of SREBP1, PPARγ, and HMGR in the liver [39], and activating P13K/PKB, AMRK, and/or cAMP signal pathway [39][40][41]. It has been reported that quercetin supplementation reduced the increase of adipose tissue weight induced by feeding with a high-fat diet in rats [32,42,43].…”