Dietary quercetin reduces chemotherapy-induced fatigue in mice

While fatigue is the most commonly reported symptom of chemotherapy, there are currently no effective treatments for chemotherapy-induced fatigue (CIF). We used a mouse model to examine the benefits of quercetin on CIF as measured by voluntary wheel running activity and sought to determine whether quercetin may be associated with a decrease in inflammation and/or anemia.

Mice were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: placebo-vehicle (Plac-PBS), placebo-5-fluorouracil (Plac-5FU), quercetin-vehicle (Quer-PBS), or quercetin-5-fluorouracil (Quer-5FU). All mice were given a daily injection of either 60 mg/kg of 5-FU or phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 5 days. Quercetin (0.02%) treatment was administered in the food 3 days prior to 5-FU administration and for the duration of the experiment (ie, days -2 to 14). A second group of mice was sacrificed at 5 and 14 days post initial injection for assessment of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and anemia.

Voluntary wheel running was reduced in both the Plac-5FU and Quer-5FU groups following 5-FU injection (P < .05). However, the Quer-5FU group recovered to baseline levels by approximately day 7, whereas the Plac-5FU group remained suppressed. MCP-1 was significantly elevated at 14 days in Plac-5FU (P < .001), but no changes were seen with Quer-5FU. Treatment with 5-FU resulted in anemia at both 5 days and 14 days; however, quercetin blocked this effect at 14 days (P < .001).

These results demonstrate the beneficial effect of quercetin on improving recovery of voluntary physical activity following 5-FU treatment, which may be linked to a decrease in inflammation and anemia.