Quercetin plays a protective role in alleviating radiation injury

Quercetin, a chemical rich in vegetables, fruits and some Chinese herbal medicines, can effectively counteract the adverse effects of radiation on the body Recently, Dr Cui Yali, director of Nuclear Medicine Department of Tumor Hospital Affiliated to Harbin Medical University, confirmed for the first time in China that quercetin has a protective effect in alleviating radiation injury, which is related to its ability to eliminate free radicals and enhance immunity Quercetin and its derivatives are the most widely distributed flavonoids in the plant kingdom, which are widely found in the flowers, leaves and fruits of plants, and also the most important bioflavonoids in human diet Mango, apple, grape, cherry, pear, tea, onion, carrot and red wine are all rich in this substance In cell culture experiments and some animal experiments, quercetin has been proved to have anti-virus, anti-tumor, cardiovascular protection and many other pharmacological effects, but there has been no specific research on radiation injury Dr Cui Yali and researchers of Jilin University jointly carried out the scientific research project "the protective effect of quercetin on rats irradiated with 6gyx line" The researchers selected four groups of rats, two of them were irradiated by X-ray One group of rats was injected with quercetin intraperitoneally, the other group was not injected Among the remaining two groups of rats without X-ray irradiation, one group was also injected with quercetin, while the other group was not The effects of quercetin on the immune function of spleen cells, oxidative stress response of liver and general morphological changes were observed The results showed that the content of MDA in the liver of X-ray irradiated rats increased significantly, which may be caused by the damage of free radicals to fatty acid components of membrane lipids Quercetin can increase the content of antioxidants and the activity of antioxidant enzymes, accelerate the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, reduce the infiltration of inflammatory cells, and help to protect liver cells At the same time, quercetin can significantly enhance the proliferation rate of lymphocytes, and significantly increase the percentage of immunoadjuvant cells and immunokiller cells This shows that quercetin can alleviate the oxidative stress response of rats exposed to X-ray Dr Cui Yali pointed out that in daily life, eating more fruits and fresh vegetables is very beneficial to both the patients receiving radiotherapy and the general population.