Radioprotective-antimutagenic effects of rosemary phenolics against chromosomal damage induced in human lymphocytes by gamma-rays.

The radioprotective effects of carnosic acid (CA), carnosol (COL), and rosmarinic acid (RO) against chromosomal damage induced by gamma-rays, compared with those of L-ascorbic acid (AA) and the S-containing compound dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), were determined by use of the micronucleus test for antimutagenic activity, evaluating the reduction in the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in cytokinesis-blocked cells of human lymphocytes before and after gamma-ray irradiation. With treatment before gamma-irradiation, the most effective compounds were, in order, CA > RO > or = COL > AA > DMSO. The radioprotective effects (antimutagenic) with treatment after gamma-irradiation were lower, and the most effective compounds were CA and COL. RO and AA presented small radioprotective activity, and the sulfur-containing compound DMSO lacked gamma-ray radioprotection capacity. Therefore, CA and COL are the only compounds that showed a significant antimutagenic activity both before and after gamma-irradiation treatments. These results are closely related to those reported by other authors on the antioxidant activity of the same compounds, and the degree of effectiveness depends on their structure. Furthermore, the results for treatments before and after gamma-ray irradiation suggest the existence of different radioprotective mechanisms in each case.