Intravenous nanosomes of quercetin improve brain function and hemodynamic instability after severe hypoxia in newborn piglets

• We developed a drug delivery system of quercetin for improving brain bioavailability.
• Nanosomes neuroprotective activity was evaluated in a newborn asphyxia piglet model.
• Blood pressure and brain function improved after intravenous quercetin nanosomes.
• A deeply required new therapeutic strategy in perinatal asphyxia is proposed.

Perinatal asphyxia is a major cause of death and neurological morbidity in newborns and oxidative stress is one of the critical mechanisms leading to permanent brain lesions in this pathology. In this context we have chosen quercetin, a natural antioxidant, known also by its brain protective effects to study its potential as a therapy for brain pathology provoked by severe hypoxia in the brain. To overcame the difficulties of quercetin to access the brain, we have developed lecithin/cholesterol/cyclodextrin nanosomes as a safe and protective vehicle.We have applied the nanosomal preparation intravenously to newborn piglets submitted to a severe hypoxic or ischemic/hypoxic episode and followed them for 8 or 72 h, respectively. Either towards the end of 8 h after hypoxia or up to 72 h after, electroencephalographic amplitude records in animals that received the nanosomes improved significantly. Animals receiving quercetin also stabilized blood pressure and recovered spontaneous breathing. In this experimental group mechanical ventilation assistance was withdrawn in the first 24 h while the hypoxic and vehicle groups required more than 24 h of mechanical ventilation. Three days after the hypoxia the suckling and walking capacity in the group that received quercetin recovered significantly compared with the hypoxic groups. Pathological studies did not show significant differences in the brain of newborn piglets treated with nanosomes compared with hypoxic groups. The beneficial effects of quercetin nanosomal preparation after experimental perinatal asphyxia show it as a promising putative treatment for the damaged brain in development.