Abstract: Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of quercetin on acute gouty arthritis and its influence in renal function in rats. Methods Seventy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, colchicine group (0.5 mg/kg), allopurinol group (20 mg/kg), quercetin 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg groups (n=10 for each group). Rats were administered various drugs by oral gavage once a day for seven consecutive days throughout the experiment. On the fifth day, the animal model of acute arthritis was set up by giving monosodium urate crystal combined with hypo⁃ xanthine. The inflammatory reaction was detected by measuring the circumference of right hind leg anklejoint with a tie line method at 0, 2, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h. The swelling ratio was calculated. The serum levels of uric acid (UA), β2-microglobulin (β2-MG), cystatin C (Cys-C), urea nitrogen (Urea) and creatinine (Cr) were detected by colorimetry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Rats were sacrificed at the end of experiment, and the kidney was weighed and the renal index was calcu⁃ lated. Results Treatment with quercetin, colchicine or allopurinol can significantly attenuate swelling rate in rats of acute gouty arthritis. The serum levels of UA were significantly higher in colchicine group and quercetin group than those of nor⁃ mal control group and allopurinol group. The serum levels of UA was significantly lower in allopurinol group than that of normal control group. After 48-h modeling, there was no significant difference in serum UA level between seven groups except allopurinol group. The levels of β2-MG and Cys-C were the lowest in normal control group than those of other groups. The serum levels of Urea and Cr and renal index were the highest in allopurinol group compared with those of other groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion Quercetin shows a significant effect of anti-inflammatory on acute gouty arthritis in rats. The model es⁃ tablishment may lead to different degrees of renal damage. Quercetin has no protective effect against renal injury, and allopurinol aggravates kidney injury.

Key words: gouty arthritis, hyperuricemia, quercetin, colchicines, allopurinol, renal function