Figure 6
Rosmarinic acid increases lens clarity and delays selenite-induced cataract formation in vivo. (A–C) photographs of wild type rats demonstrating fully transparent lenses and (D–F) photographs of wild type rats with clear lenses treated with rosmarinic acid. (G–I) Cataractous lenses from rats treated with postnatal injection of selenite at the age of 13 days. Four days after the injection, a dense opacity in the center of the lens was seen in each of the model eyes. (J–L) Photographs of model rats treated with Rosmarinic acid. Approximately 4 hours before administration of selenite, the study rats were treated with a subcutaneous injection of rosmarinic acid (40 mM, 500 µl), and were thereafter treated daily with a repeat rosmarinic acid administration. Control rats were treated with a similar protocol but received a subcutaneous injection of a similar volume of PBS. The photographs were acquired six days after the injection. Rosmarinic acid treatment delayed lenticular opacification and decreased the severity of selenite-induced cataract in all treated rats.
