Aim. This study aimed to assess the
antioxidant activity of
quercetin (Q) in an experimental model of
cirrhosis induced by CCl(4) inhalation. Materials and Methods. We used 25 male Wistar rats (250 g) that were divided into 3 groups: control (CO), CCl(4), and CCl(4) + Q. The rats were subjected to CCl(4) inhalation (2x/week) for 16 weeks, and they received
phenobarbital in their
drinking water at a dose of 0.3 g/dL as a
P450 enzyme inducer. Q (50 mg/Kg) was initiated intraperitoneally
at 10 weeks of inhalation and lasted until the end of the experiment. Statistical analysis was by ANOVA Student Newman-Keuls (mean ± SEM), and differences were considered statistically significant when P < 0.05. Results.
After treatment with
quercetin, we observed an improvement in liver complications, decreased
fibrosis, as analyzed by picrosirius for the quantification of
collagen, and decreased levels of
matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) compared with the CCl(4) group. It also reduced oxidative stress, as confirmed by the decrease of substances reacting to
thiobarbituric acid (
TBARS), the increased activity of
antioxidant enzymes, and the
reduced glutathione ratio and
glutathione disulfide (GSH/
GSSG). Conclusion. We suggest that the use of
quercetin might be promising as an
antioxidant therapy in
liver fibrosis.