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Distribution of Quercetin in Different Organs of Male Sprague Dawley Rats Under Hypoxia: A High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography Approach



Quercetin (3’,3’,4,5,7-pentahydroxyflavonol), a natural flavonoid found in
fruits, vegetables, beverages, and other phytoproducts, exerts multiple health benefits including a reduction
in hypoxia-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid peroxidation, allergic disorders,
neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.



Despite knowledge of such therapeutic efficacy of quercetin to human health, there is
limited literature available that sheds light on an organ-wise distribution of quercetin. Therefore, the
current study was performed to accurately estimate the distribution of quercetin in its supplemented
form in different tissues of a mammalian model, i.e., male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.



The rats were exposed to different durations (1 h, 3 h, 6 h, and 12 h) of hypoxia
in a simulated hypobaric hypoxia chamber, with parameters maintained at 8 % O2 and 282 mm
Hg, following which they were sacrificed. Plasma and different tissue samples were duly collected.
A high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) approach was employed for the first time,
using our own reported method, along with an optimized sample preparation procedure for quercetin
determination. Briefly, the samples were developed in a mobile phase constituted of ethyl acetate,
dichloromethane, methanol, formic acid, and glacial acetic acid.



Distinct bands of quercetin in resultant HPTLC profiles verified that the
amount of quercetin varied among different tissues, with varying durations to hypoxia exposure.
Quercetin was substantially retained in vital organs namely, lungs, liver, and heart for relatively
longer durations.



The present study established HPTLC as an efficient and high throughput tool, leading to
a satisfactory evaluation of the amount of quercetin present in various tissue samples under hypoxia.
