Nanoquercetin abrogates fluoride induced cardiotoxicity in rats

We examined whether nano form of quercetin (QC) can reduce fluoride mediated cardiotoxicity by affecting oxidative stress pathway and myocardium structure and function in rats.The typical spherical nanoquercetin (NQC) particle size was 240.8 nm.Adult albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of six each.Group I was kept as the control.In Group II, rats were exposed to sodium fluoride (100 ppm) daily through drinking water for 42 days.Groups III and IV were treated with sodium fluoride as in Group II; however, they were administered QC (100 mg/kg BW) and NQC (50 mg/kg BW), respectively, by oral gavage during the last 14 days of sodium fluoride exposure.Elevated levels of cardiac troponin, heart specific markers, serum total cholesterol and triglycerides were seen in those exposed to sodium fluoride.Sodium fluoride increased lipid peroxidation, depleted reduced glutathione and decreased superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities in cardiac tissue.Sodium fluoride was shown to significantly extend QT and QRS intervals when tested on electrocardiograms.QC and NQC treatment significantly attenuated these sodium fluoride-mediated effects and preserved the normal histological architecture of the heart tissue.However, the magnitude of the effects indicates that NQC has better ameliorative potential than normal QC even at the low dose level.