CHEMICAL, ANTIOXIDANT AND TOXICITY EVALUATION OF
ROSEMARY LEAVES AND ITS DRY EXTRACT
CERASELA ELENA GÎRD1#, IOANA NENCU1#*, MARIA LIDIA POPESCU1#, TEODORA COSTEA1#, LIGIA ELENA DUŢU1#, TEODORA DALILA BALACI2#, OCTAVIAN TUDOREL OLARU3#
“Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, 6 Traian Vuia Street, 020956, Bucharest,
Romania
1Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Phytotherapy Department
2Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy Department
3Pharmaceutical Botany and Cellular Biology Department
*corresponding author: ioanaitudor@gmail.com
#All authors have equal contribution.
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Abstract:
Rosmarinus officinalis L. is an aromatic herb widely used in traditional medicine, cosmetics and gastronomy. The aim of our
research was to obtain, chemically characterize, and evaluate the antioxidant activity and cytotoxic properties of an ethanolic
dry extract from Romanian Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary) leaves. The flavonoids, phenolcarboxylic acids, total phenol
and rosmarinic acid contents of the raw material and of the extract were established using spectrophotometric and HPLC
methods. The antioxidant activity of the extract was assessed using two methods (DPPH and ferric reducing assay). The
extract contains: 3.22% of flavonoids (expressed as rutin), 34.30% phenolcarboxylic acids (expressed as chlorogenic acid),
31.86% total phenols (expressed as tannic acid) and 3.29% rosmarinic acid. The antioxidant activity of the extract was good
(EC50 = 4.63 μg/mL - for DPPH method; EC50 = 63.85 μg/mL - for ferric reducing power). Cytotoxic effects of the extract
upon Daphnia magna invertebrate were registered only at very high doses (> 500 μg/mL).

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