The Effects of Quercetin on the Tissue Quality and Function of Mouse Au-totransplanted Ovary

Background and Objectives: Ischemia-Reperfusion injury, followed by the production of oxygen free radi-cals and oxidative stress are the main limitations of ovarian tissue transplantation. We aimed to investi-gate the effects of quercetin as an antioxidant on the quality of autotransplanted mouse ovaries. Methods: In total, 36 female NMRI mice were divided into 3 groups of control, autografted, and auto-grafted + quercetin (50 mg/kg/day). Treatment was performed one day before till 7 days after transplan-tation and 28 days after transplantation; ovaries were removed for stereological assessments. Serum samples were collected on days 7 and 28 post-transplantation to measure the level of malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, estradiol, and progesterone. The obtained data were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test at the significance level of P<0.05. Results: The mean total volume of the ovary, the volume of the cortex, and the volume of the medulla, the mean number of different types of follicles (P<0.001), the level of estradiol (P<0.05), progesterone (P<0.001), and total antioxidant capacity (P<0.01), and the recovery rate of the estrous cycle (P<0.001) significantly decreased in the autografted group, compared to the controls; however, the mentioned parameters significantly increased in the autografted + quercetin group, compared to the autografted group (P<0.01). A significant increase was observed in the level of malondialdehyde on days 7 (P<0.001) and 28 (P<0.01) post-transplantation in the autografted group, compared to the control group; however, this parameter was compensated to the control level in the autografted + quercetin group. Conclusion: The present study findings revealed indicated that quercetin could improve tissue quality and the function of autotransplanted mouse ovaries.