Rosa damascena has been traditionally used as an herbal medicine for different therapeutic purposes. In order to preliminarily study the probable toxic effects of the plant, its infusion was orally administered to 5 groups of 5 dogs at doses 0.5-8 times that of human use in traditional medicine (90-1440 mg/kg/d) for 10 successive days. The dogs in the control group (n=4) received placebo. Serum levels of urea, creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), bilirubin, albumin and protein were measured in all experimental groups at days 0, 1, 3, 7 and 10. Except for a transient increase in bilirubin levels (day 3) and a rise in serum ALT at day 10, both with the highest dose of the treatment, there were no statistical differences between different experimental groups compared to the control. The results suggest minimal nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic effects for the infusion of R. damascena, however, the medication may be hepatotoxic at extraordinary high doses.

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