Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Historical note Since ancient times rosemary has been used as a tonic and
stimulant. The ancient Greeks used it to strengthen memory function and
scholars wore garlands of rosemary during examinations in order to improve
their memory and concentration (Blumenthal et al 2000). It is widely used as a
food spice and as an antioxidant to preserve foods.
COMMON NAME
Rosemary
OTHER NAMES
Compass plant, compass-weed, garden rosemary, old man, polar plant, Rosmarini
folium
BOTANICAL NAME/FAMILY
Rosmarinus officinalis (family Labiatae or Lamiaceae)
PLANT PART USED
Fresh or dried leaf
CHEMICAL COMPONENTS
Phenolic acids and diterpenoid bitter substances, including carnosic acid and carnosol
(Aruoma et al 1992, Bicchi et al 2000, Wei & Ho 2006), triterpenoid acids, flavonoids,
tannins and volatile oils (0.5–2.5%) that consist of cineole, pinene, terpineol,
camphor, camphene, borneol and bornyl acetate (Blumenthal et al 2000). Rosemary
has also been found to contain high amounts of salicylates (Swain et al 1985).
MAIN ACTIONS
ANTIOXIDANT
Rosemary has strong antioxidant activity and is widely used to preserve food and
cosmetics (Etter 2004). Rosemary leaf extract has been shown to enhance superoxide
dismutase activity (Kim et al 1995) and to have an effect stronger than vitamin E in
scavenging oxygen radicals (Zhao et al 1989). It is suggested that carnosol and
carnosic acid account for over 90% of its antioxidant properties (Aruoma et al 1992,
1996). Carnosic acid has been shown to have a photoprotective action on human
dermal fibroblasts exposed to UVA light in vitro (Offord et al 2002) and rosemary
extract inhibits oxidative alterations to skin surface lipids, both in vitro and in vivo
(Calabrese et al 2000), as well as enhancing cell-mediated immunity in rats under
oxidative stress (Babu et al 1999). In a study of 150 patients with bronchitis exposed
to essential oils of rosemary, basil, fir and eucalyptus, an antioxidant effect was
observed (Siurin 1997).