Protective effects of quercetin and its metabolites on H2O 2-induced chromosomal damage to WIL2-NS cells

Abstract

We investigated chromosomal damage caused by a typical flavonoid, quercetin, and its two conjugates, quercetin-3-O-sulfate and isorhamnetin, and their protective effects against chromosomal damage induced by H 2O2. The chromosomal damage was detected by the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay using a lymphoblastoid cell line, WIL2-NS. We found that quercetin itself induced chromosomal damage at 10 μM, but quercetin-3-O-sulfate and isorhamnetin did not induce damage up to 30 μM. In the medium used for the CBMN assay, quercetin (at 100 μM) generated a high concentration of H2O2, but the two conjugates did not at the same concentration. On the other hand, pretreatment with quercetin (at 1 μM), quercetin-3-O-sulfate (at 10 μM), and isorhamnetin (at 5 μM) prevented H2O2-induced chromosomal damage to WIL2-NS cells. These findings suggest that the induction and prevention of H 2O2-induced chromosomal damage are different between quercetin and its metabolites.