Comparative transcriptomic profiling of liver tissue from lean (fa/+) female Zucker rats (~15 weeks old) fed a standard diet supplemented (0.5% w/w) with a rosemary extract enriched in carnosic acid (40% CA)

We used Affymetrix microarrays to investigate gene expression changes in the liver of lean female Zucker rats exposed to a normal diet supplemented with a rosemary extract rich in the diterpenic compound, carnosic acid (CA). The aim of this work was to determine whether the daily intake (with the standard diet) of the rosemary extract (RE) enriched in CA (40%) for 64 days exerted any modulatory effects, at the level of gene expression, in the liver of lean Zucker female rats. Female lean Zucker rats were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (n= 7 animals per group) as follows: (1) control group, fed a standard diet (CT); (2) treated group, fed a standard diet supplemented (0.05% w/w) with the RE rich in CA (RE). At the end of the experimental procedure (64 days), total RNA was extracted from the liver to compare differential gene expression between the two groups. Liver differential gene expression after 64 days of supplementation between the CT group and the RE group (effects of the extract supplementation).