Angela Maria Pereira Alves; Anderson Luiz de Paula; Cassio Rafael Moreira; Fernanda Ferrari; Jean Paulo Coelho Leal; Ualid Saleh Hatoum; Helaine Maruska Vieira Silva: Eder Paulo Belato Alves; Marcilio Hubner de Miranda Neto & Paulo Alexandre Galvanini

The effects of quercetin supplementation in NADH-diaphorase positive (NADH-d) neurons of streptozotocin- induced diabetic rats was carried in this study. Fifteen male rats were divided into three groups: normoglycemic (N), diabetic (D) and diabetic supplemented with quercetin (DQ). Whole mount preparations of the muscular layer of the ileum underwent NADH-d histochemistry for evidencing the NADH-d neuronal subpopulation. Quantitative analyzes were performed on 30 random fields, and morphometric analyzes in 100 neuronal bodies and nuclei per animal. The supplementation promoted a 44 % reduction in the neuronal density in D group when compared to N group (p <0.001); a 24.5 % reduction was observed in the DQ group when compared to N (p <0.01). Animals in D group presented an 18.7 % increase in the cell body areas of myenteric neurons when compared to N (p <0.001); DQ group showed a 14.2 % decrease in neuronal areas when compared to D (p <0.01); the nuclear area were similar among the three groups. We conclude that quercetin supplementation was positive for animals with diabetes mellitus.

KEY WORDS: Diabetes mellitus;Enteric neurons; Quercetin; NADH diaphorase.

PEREIRA ALVES, A. M.; DE PAULA, A. L.; MOREIRA, C. R.; FERRARI, F.; COELHO LEAL, J. P.; HATOUM, U. S.; VIEIRA SILVA, H. M.; BELATO ALVES, E. P.; DE MIRANDA NETO, M. H. & GALVANINI, P. A. Effects of quercetin- supplementation in NADH-diaphorase positive neurons subpopulations in the ileum of rats with experimental diabetes mellitus. Int. J. Morphol., 35(1):236-241, 2017.