Evaluation of the effects of rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis) essential oil and aronia (aronia melanocarpa) extract on liver damage induced in rats

Objective: In our study, we aimed to evaluate the protective effects of rosemary essential oil and aronia extract on liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride using histological and biochemical methods. Material and Methods: In our study, 32 male Wistar albino rats weighing between 250-300 g were randomly distributed into four groups, with 8 rats in each group. Control group, no procedure was applied to the rats designated. Carbon tetrachloride group: A single dose of 1 ml/kg carbon tetrachloride was administered intraperitoneally on day 14. Rosemary group: Rosemary essential oil was administered orally by gavage at a dose of 10 ml/kg every day for 14 days and a single dose of 1 ml/kg carbon tetrachloride was administered intraperitoneally on day 14. Aronia group: Aronia extract was administered orally by gavage at a dose of 0.45 ml/kg every day for 14 days and a single dose of 1 ml/kg carbon tetrachloride was administered intraperitoneally on day 14. Rats were sacrificed under anesthesia 24 hours and liver tissues were removed after intracardiac blood collection. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in all biochemical parameters except TOS (p=0.088) between all groups (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in SOD, MDA, ALT and AST values between the carbon tetrachloride group and both the rosemary group and the aronia group (p<0.05). There was a significant difference in TAS values between the control group and the carbon tetrachloride group, but there was no statistically significant difference in TOS. The mean MDA value in the rosemary group was lower than the mean value of the control group. Although both aronia and rosemary groups reduced oxidative stress index when compared with the carbon tetrachloride group, there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05). When histological sections were examined, improvement was observed in liver tissue in both rosemary and aronia groups. The areas of improvement in the group treated with rosemary were more than those in the aronia extract group. Conclusion: In our study, although it was found that the antioxidant effect of rosemary essential oil was higher than that of aronia extract, it was determined that both plants showed protective effect by preventing oxidative stress in liver tissues damaged by carbon tetrachloride.