Rosmarinic acid is a polyphenolic compound and main constituent ofRosmarinus officinalisand has been shown to possess antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory properties. We aimed to evaluate the anti‐inflammatory properties of rosmarinic acid and of an extract ofR. officinalisin local inflammation (carrageenin‐induced paw oedema model in the rat), and further evaluate the protective effect of rosmarinic acid in rat models of systemic inflammation: liver ischaemia–reperfusion (I/R) and thermal injury models. In the local inflammation model, rosmarinic acid was administered at 10, 25 and 50 mg/kg (p.o.), and the extract was administered at 10 and 25 mg/kg (equivalent doses to rosmarinic acid groups) to male Wistar rats. Administration of rosmarinic acid and extract at the dose of 25 mg/kg reduced paw oedema at 6 hr by over 60%, exhibiting a dose–response effect, suggesting that rosmarinic was the main contributor to the anti‐inflammatory effect. In the liver I/R model, rosmarinic acid was administered at 25 mg/kg (i.v.) 30 min. prior to the induction of ischaemia and led to the significant reduction in the serum concentration of transaminases (ASTandALT) andLDH. In the thermal injury model, rosmarinic acid was administered at 25 mg/kg (i.v.) 5 min. prior to the induction of injury and significantly reduced multi‐organ dysfunction markers (liver, kidney, lung) by modulatingNF‐κB and metalloproteinase‐9. For the first time, the anti‐inflammatory potential of rosmarinic acid has been identified, as it causes a substantial reduction in inflammation, and we speculate that it might be useful in the pharmacological modulation of injuries associated to inflammation.

The toxicity of ionic liquids, involving different classes of cations and different types of anions, was evaluated by a colorimetric assay with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) in two colon carcinoma HT-29 and CaCo-2 cell lines. Confluent CaCo-2 cells can undergo spontaneously an enterocytic differentiation and represent a good in vitro model of normal human intestinal epithelium. Ionic liquids are highly promising due to their low vapour pressures, however, toxicity evaluation of these ionic liquids is of great importance to assess the risk of these ionic liquids to humans and the environment.

Toxicological evaluation of a new group of ionic liquids was performed on human colon cancerous cells—CaCo-2. They belong to different classes of cations: imidazolium (IM), dimethyl-guanidinium (dmg) and tetramethyl-guanidinium (tmg), methyl-pyrrolidinium (MPyr), 2-methyl-1-ethyl-pyridinium (2-MEPy), quaternary ammonium (benzyltriethyl-ammonium–BzTEA; phenyltrimethyl-ammonium–PhTMA; tri-n-octyl-methylammonium-Aliquat) and tri-n-hexyl-tetra-n-decylphosphonium (P6,6,6,14). The new results were compared with data obtained in previous reported studies performed in our lab, and we clearly saw that toxicity can vary significantly with the type of anion. Dicyanoamide-[DCA] and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide-[NTf₂] were seen to visibly change the impact of some cations. Some were considerably less harmful for CaCo-2 monolayer when the anion was [DCA] or [NTf₂ ], while others induced an abnormal increase of cellular metabolism when [NTf₂ ] was present and therefore, they were considered toxic. However, some cations induced similar responses in the presence of a broad number of anions as (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium)-[C₄MIM] (with the exception of [FeCl₄ ]), (1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium)-[C₂OHMIM] and [C₄MPyr] and did not cause toxicity. Consequently, they are considered promising cations for building human friendlier solvents. But, a reasonable number of other combinations involving different classes of cations were also seen to not significantly affect viability of the CaCo-2 monolayer.