The radio-protective effect of rosmarinic acid against mobile phone and Wi-Fi radiation-induced oxidative stress in the brains of rats.

BACKGROUND: Rosmarinus officinalis L. is an aromatic perennial herb from which rosmarinic acid (RA) can be extracted. This research was conducted to assess the effectiveness of RA against radio frequency (RF) radiation-induced oxidative stress due to 915 MHz (mobile phone) and 2450 MHz (Wi-Fi) frequencies in rats.

METHODS: The animals were separated into six groups, including group 1 receiving normal saline (NS), group 2 (NS/Wi-Fi) and group 4 (NS/mobile), which received NS plus 60 min/day of exposure to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) for 1 month, group 3 (RA/Wi-Fi) and group 5 (RA/mobile) received RA (20 mg/kg/day, po) plus 60 min/day of EMR, and group 6 (RA) received only RA.

RESULTS: There was a significant elevation of protein carbonylation (PC), nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and significant reduction in glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the RF radiation-exposed rats' brain compared to the control group. RA reduced the levels of NO, PC and MDA and it also elevated the TAC, GPx, SOD, CAT and GSH levels in the rats' brains in the RA/Wi-Fi and RA/mobile groups compared to the NS/Wi-Fi and NS/mobile groups, respectively.

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that RA can be considered a useful candidate for protecting brain tissues against RF radiation-induced oxidative stress at 915 and 2450 MHz frequencies through ameliorative effects on the antioxidant enzyme activities and oxidative stress indices.