Oxidative stress modulation by Rosmarinus officinalis in CCl4-induced liver cirrhosis.

Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiaceae) possesses antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effects, and so may provide a possible therapeutic alternative for chronic liver disease. The effect produced by a methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis on CCl(4)-induced liver cirrhosis in rats was investigated using both prevention and reversion models. Over the course of the development of cirrhosis, the increased enzymatic activities of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and alanine aminotransferase, and the rise in bilirubin levels caused by CCl(4) administration, were prevented by Rosmarinus officinalis co-administration. When the cirrhosis by oxidative stress was evaluated as an increase on liver lipoperoxidation, total lipid peroxides, nitric oxide in serum, and loss of erythrocyte plasma membrane stability, R. officinalis was shown to prevent such alterations. On cirrhotic animals treated with CCl(4), histological studies showed massive necrosis, periportal inflammation and fibrosis which were modified by R. officinalis. These benefits on experimental cirrhosis suggest a potential therapeutic use for R. officinalis as an alternative for liver cirrhosis.