Original Articles: 2017 Vol: 9 Issue: 5
Effect of Essential Oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Rosemary) on the Healing of Cutaneous Lesions in Mice
Abstract
The species Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Rosemary) is a spice known since antiquity and used both in the food and in a therapeutic area. In popular medicine, Rosemary is used as a general stimulant, antihypertensive, Stomach, antiseptic pulmonary, organic, carminative, choleretic, antirheumatic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and healing. The essential oil of R. officinalis L. Presents antibacterial, cytotoxic, antioxidant, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory, chemoprotective, immunostimulating, antidiabetogenic and hepatoprotective activity. This work aims to evaluate the effect of R. officinalis essential oil as a healing agent in the treatment of skin lesions induced in mice. Thirty animals were used, divided into treatments with a period of 7, 14 and 21 days. Each treatment period consisted of 10 animals, 5 of the Alecrim Group (GA), which received the essential oil of R. officinalis, and 5 animals of the Control Group (CG) receiving the 0.9% saline solution. All animals of both groups were treated with 100 μL of oil or saline solution on the lesion. Throughout the treatment period, each lesion was measured and photographed. All animals that were treated with the essential oil of R. officinalis obtained satisfactory responses, both visually and statistically. Signifier positive differences (p<0.01) between treated and control groups were observed in different aspects of wound healing process. Reduced inflammation and enhanced wound contraction, re-epithelialization, regeneration of granulation tissue, angiogenesis and collagen deposition were detected in the treated wounds, demonstrated the Therapeutic potential of Rosemary for topical use.