Radioprotective−Antimutagenic Effects of Rosemary Phenolics against Chromosomal Damage Induced in Human Lymphocytes by γ-rays

The radioprotective effects of carnosic acid (CA), carnosol (COL), and rosmarinic acid (RO) against chromosomal damage induced by γ-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 γ-ray irradiation. With treatment before γ-irradiation, the most effective compounds were, in order, CA > RO ≥ COL > AA > DMSO. The radioprotective effects (antimutagenic) with treatment after γ-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 γ-ray radioprotection capacity. Therefore, CA and COL are the only compounds that showed a significant antimutagenic activity both before and after γ-irradiation treatments. These results are closely related ...