Dietary Quercetin Pretreatment Protects against UV-C Radiation-Induced Seizure Vulnerability, Motor, and Visual Biomarker Impairments in Drosophila melanogaster
Susmita Majumder *
Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India.
Sandip Pal
Department of Zoology, Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath College, Barrackpore, West Bengal, India.
Dalia Mukhopadhyay
Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Asutosh College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Jayanta Kumar Kundu
Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: UV radiation is a type of non-ionising radiation that is ubiquitous in the environment and becomes hazardous with prolonged exposure. It can instigate progressive neurobehavioural impairment primarily through reactive oxygen species-mediated nervous system toxicity.
Aims: This study evaluated the radioprotective efficacy of flavonoid quercetin pretreatment against radiation-induced mechanical-shock, motor, and visual deficits in adult Drosophila melanogaster.
Study Design: This study evaluated the radioprotective effects of quercetin against UV-C radiation. Post-UV-exposure recovery was quantified across mechanical-shock, locomotor, phototactic, and geotactic domains using behavioural tests and biological markers.
Place and Duration of Study: Graduate and Postgraduate Department of Zoology, Asutosh College, Kolkata-700026, and Dinabandhu Andrews College, Kolkata-700084, West Bengal, India, between January 2025 and June 2026.
Methodology: This study used a four-cohort comparative design (control, quercetin-pretreated, UV-C-treated, and quercetin-pretreated then UV-C-treated) in Drosophila melanogaster. The larvae and adult flies received a quercetin-supplemented diet (100μM) before exposure to UV-C radiation (360J/m2) for 120 seconds. Important functional biomarkers—adult locomotor (climbing) activity, seizure recovery, positive phototaxis, and negative geotaxis behaviours—were systematically quantified alongside biomarker-based assessments.
Results: Exposure to UV-C radiation severely affected climbing activity, delayed recovery after seizure shock, and disrupted the adult flies’ phototactic and geotactic preferences. Dietary quercetin pretreatment significantly ameliorated the disrupted geotactic-phototactic preference pattern, retained substantial locomotor activity, and resulted in faster post-seizure recovery.
Conclusion: Quercetin helps to mitigate impairment in age-dependent locomotor activity and recovery after mechanical shock injury and to restore phototactic and geotactic preferences in Drosophila melanogaster. Protection of these physical, motor, and sensory behavioural biomarkers highlights quercetin's potential to counteract UV-induced damage.
Keywords: Drosophila melanogaster, quercetin, UV-C radiation, radioprotection, oxidative stress, negative geotaxis, phototaxis, seizure recovery, locomotor activity, behavioural biomarkers