Effect and Mechanisms of Quercetin for Experimental Focal Cerebral Ischemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity Vol. 2022; pp. 9749461 - 13
• Main Authors: Guo, Chao, Wang, Wen-Jun, Liao, Yu-Cheng, Zhao, Chao, Yin, Ying, Yao, Min-Na, Ding, Yi, Wang, Jing-Wen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Hindawi 2022; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Anesthesia; Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier - drug effects; Blood-Brain Barrier - metabolism; Brain research; Cardiovascular disease; Cerebral Infarction - drug therapy; Clinical trials; Diabetes; Disease Models, Animal; Drug dosages; Humans; Hypertension; Ischemia; Ischemic Stroke - drug therapy; Male; Meta-analysis; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Permeability; Permeability - drug effects; Phytochemicals - therapeutic use; Phytotherapy - methods; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Quercetin - therapeutic use; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rats, Wistar; Review; Software; Statistical analysis; Stroke; Systematic review; Treatment Outcome; Veins & arteries
• ISSN: 1942-0900; 1942-0994
• DOI: 10.1155/2022/9749461

Quercetin, a naturally occurring flavonoid, is mainly extracted from tea, onions, and apples. It has the underlying neuroprotective effect on experimental ischemic stroke. A systematic review and meta-analysis were used to assess quercetin’s efficacy and possible mechanisms in treating focal cerebral ischemia. Compared with the control group, twelve studies reported a remarkable function of quercetin in improving the neurological function score (NFS) (P<0.05), and twelve studies reported a significant effect on reducing infarct volume (P<0.05). Moreover, two and three studies showed that quercetin could alleviate blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and brain water content, respectively. The mechanisms of quercetin against focal cerebral ischemia are diverse, involving antioxidation, antiapoptotic, anti-inflammation, and calcium overload reduction. On the whole, the present study suggested that quercetin can exert a protective effect on experimental ischemic stroke. Although the effect size may be overestimated because of the quality of studies and possible publication bias, these results indicated that quercetin might be a promising neuroprotective agent for human ischemic stroke. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD 42021275656.