Quercetin/adenosine combination may induce insulin resistance in high fat diet-fed mice

Quercetin and adenosine are natural antioxidants separately claimed to improve metabolic syndrome parameters. The effect of this combination (QA) was examined in high fat diet-fed mice. Results showed that growth and blood parameters, as observed for quercetin-treated mice, were not significantly different from the control. Adenosine alone caused hyperglycemia and reduced plasma adiponectin. QA feeding led to increased adiposity and circulatory insulin, and concomitantly down-regulated liver eNOS and LFABP expressions. This showed that interaction occurred between quercetin and adenosine, and combined ingestion may lead to insulin resistance, while adenosine does not prevent the development of metabolic syndrome. (C) 2011 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.