Rosemary and Liver Damage

Raskovic, Milanovic, Pavlovic, Cebovic, Vukmirovic, and Mikov (2014) evaluated the effects of rosemary essential oil on liver injury. The injury to the rats was induced using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4).  Instead of ordering the oil they made it in their lab using established procedures (hydrodistillation). 

The rats were divided into 6 groups of six. There were two control groups. One was given a saline solution (CON S) and the other was given one dose 1 milliliter per kilogram of weight of CCl4.  There were two rosemary groups with this same dosage. The dosages for rosemary were 5 and 10 milligrams per kilogram. The other two groups were just given rosemary essential oil at these same doses. 

The rosemary was given via a feeding tube for seven days then the CCl4 was administered. The most prominent constituents of the essential oil were 1,8-cineole, camphor, a-pinene, b-pinene, camphene, and b-caryophyllene.

The rosemary essential oil demonstrated a free radical scavenging property where 77.6 microliters per milliliter achieved 50% effectiveness.  Markers they looked at were malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels as well as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (Px), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) activities.  With CCl4, MDA had a 3.5-fold increase. Both groups where the rosemary was introduced before the CCl4 had significantly reduced oxidative stress levels. The authors said the REO10 group was near that of the control. The urea and creatine levels suggested rosemary essential oil repaired some of the damage to the liver excretion function.  

MDA is one of the first indicators that liver function is impaired. Rosemary prevented the increase in MDA. Damaging the liver significantly impaired GSH levels as well. It reduces CAT activity and increases GPx. Rosemary reversed all of the indicators, especially at the higher dose. 

Rosemary essential oil limited cell peroxidation which reduced the damage to the cell membranes. Given the variations in oil composition, the authors can only speak for the composition of the oil tested. Their sample came from Belgrade.

NOTE: One important thing mentioned in this study is the composition of the oil based on the region of origin of the plant.  They named three different regions that, when compared, differed making it important to understand what properties the plant being used have.  This could be vital in regards to people with plant allergies.  They added season of harvest was an important factor.
 
Have a Great Day!

Raskovic, A., Milanovic, I., Pavlovic, N., Cebovic, T., Vukmirovic, S., and Mikov, M. (2014). Antioxidant activity of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) essential oil and its hepatoprotective potential. Complementary and Alternative Medicine 14:225