The present study aims to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Intraperitoneal administration of CCl4 (0.1 ml/100g BW) twice weekly for 6 weeks induced various histopathological changes in the liver such as hepatic tissue impairment, cytoplasmic vacuolization of the hepatocytes, congestion of blood vessels, leucocytic infiltrations , fatty infiltrations and fibrosis. Moreover, there was an increase in serum level of ALT, AST, ALP, cholesterol and triglyceride. Treating animals with ethanol extract of rosemary led to an improvement, in both histopathological and biochemical alterations induced by CCl4 .These results proved that rosemary had an ameliorative effect against liver injury produced by CCl4.
Key words: Rosmarinus officinalis, carbon tetrachloride, hepatotoxicity
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