Allied studies on the effect of Rosmarinus officinalis L-on experimental hepatotoxicity and mutagenesis

The hepatoprotective and antimutagenic effects of the rosemary essential oi l and the ethanolic extract were investigated using carbon tetrachloride an d cyclophosphamide as hepatotoxic and mutagenic compounds, respectively. Ou r results revealed that i.g. administration of the rosemary ethanolic extra ct (0.15 g/100 g BW) to rats for 3 weeks produced the most pronounced hepat oprotective effect compared to silymarin (reference compound) due to the am elioration of most of the studied serum and liver parameters and confirmed by histopathological examination of the liver tissue. Pretreatment of mice for 7 days with the rosemary essential oil (1.1 mg/g BW) followed by i.p, i njection with cyclophosphamide reduced significantly the induced mitodepres sion in the bone marrow cells of the animals. The potential hepatoprotectiv e and antimutagenic activities of the rosemary ethanolic extract and essent ial oil, respectively, are attributed to the presence of a relatively high percentage of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity (according to our chemical studies).