Predictive justification and experimental confirmation of the pharmacotherapeutic effect of quercetin incorporated into the phosphatidylcholine liposomes or the povidone matrix in a model of acute respiratory distress syndrome induced by intratracheal aspiration of hydrochloric acid are presented.

Aim. To establish the phenomenon of the pharmacotherapeutic action of quercetin in transport systems in acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by acid aspiration, using various methods of administration in order to provide experimental justification for the broader clinical translation of known quercetin formulations.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted in compliance with bioethical standards using Balb/c mice (25–30 g, both sexes) from the vivarium of the State Institution “Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was modeled by intratracheal instillation of 0.1 N HCl after propofol anesthesia. Control animals received sterile saline. Two drugs were studied: Lipoflavon® (liposomal quercetin formulation) and Corvitin® (water-soluble quercetin derivative). The samples were administered intravenously and/or by inhalation according to different regimens for 5 days. Therapeutic efficacy was assessed by survival, body weight dynamics, clinical status, and histological examination of lungs and heart. Tissue samples were fixed in formalin, paraffin-embedded, sectioned, stained with hematoxylin-eosin, and examined by light microscopy. Statistical analysis was performed using the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), or Kruskal–Wallis criterion (p ≤ 0.05). The analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel and using the Statistics Kingdom online calculator.

Results. The phenomenon of the therapeutic and prophylactic effect of the studied quercetin transport systems (drugs Lipoflavon and Corvitin) was established in terms of their protective effect on the dynamics of survival (growth up to 100 %), normalization of the clinical condition and weight of animals during ARDS induction by acid aspiration. The pharmacotherapeutic effect of inhalation and injection administration of the studied quercetin preparations was visualized by the histo-morphological picture of structural restoration and anti-inflammatory process in the target lungs and bronchi, which are deeply affected in the ARDS model.

Conclusions. The obtained experimental results should contribute to the justification of the clinical translation of drugs based on quercetin transport systems in the medical technology of ARDS treatment.