Evaluation of tolerable levels of dietary quercetin for exerting its antioxidative effect in high cholesterol-fed rats

The tolerable level of dietary quercetin for exerting its antioxidative effect was evaluated in high cholesterol-fed rats, using quercetin-containing diets (31–1260 mg quercetin/kg body weight/day) and onion diets (19–94 mg quercetin aglycone equivalent/kg body weight/day), from the viewpoint of a safety assessment. After feeding for 4 weeks, the urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) levels of the quercetin-containing diet groups fed more than 157 mg quercetin/kg body weight/day were higher than the group fed a quercetin-free diet, although the plasma quercetin metabolite levels and plasma antioxidative activity were elevated depending on the amounts of quercetin or onion diet intake. No significant effect on body weight gain by quercetin-containing diets or onion diets was observed. However, ratios of the liver and kidney weights to the body weight were significantly increased in the quercetin-containing diet groups fed more than 314 mg and 157 mg quercetin/kg body weight/day, respectively, and in the onion diet groups fed more than 47 mg quercetin aglycone equivalent/kg body weight/day. These results indicated that the tolerable level for dietary quercetin for exerting its antioxidative effect was between 126 and 157 mg/kg/day for the quercetin diet and between 19 and 34 mg/kg/day for the onion diet.