Does rosmarinic acid treatment have protective role against sepsis-induced oxidative damage in Wistar Albino rats?

Reactive oxygen species are believed to be involved in the development of sepsis. Plant-derived phenolic compounds are thought to be possible therapeutic agents against sepsis because of their antioxidant properties. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a phenolic compound commonly found in various plants, which has many biological activities including antioxidant activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of RA on sepsis-induced DNA damage in the lymphocytes and liver and kidney cells of Wistar albino rats by alkaline comet assay with and without formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase protein. The oxidative stress parameters such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and total glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the liver and kidney tissues and an inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) level in plasma were also evaluated. It is found that DNA damage in the lymphocytes, livers, and kidneys of the RA-treated rats was significantly lower than that in the sepsis-induced rats. RA treatment also decreased the MDA levels and increased the GSH levels and SOD and GSH-Px activities in the livers and kidneys of the sepsis-induced rats. Plasma TNF-α level was found to be decreased in the RA-treated rats. It seems that RA might have a role in the attenuation of sepsis-induced oxidative damage not only by decreasing the DNA damage but also by increasing the antioxidant status and DNA repair capacity of the animals.