You may not realize it, but you probably have one of nature’s most powerful substances in your kitchen right now. Say hello to your new best friend: rosemary.
Rosemary is one of the world’s most popular herbs, beloved for its fragrant aroma that intoxicates the senses. A popular shrub, rosemary is found in planters and backyard green spaces the world over, thanks to its pleasing appearance and hardy growth. Culinary and lifestyle enthusiasts favor rosemary for the delicate flavor and fragrance it imparts when cooked or infused in oils.
Besides being a useful addition to your kitchen and bath, this Mediterranean evergreen is a medicinal powerhouse, credited with an impressive list of healthful benefits. Rosemary is rich in phytochemicals, bioactive plant compounds with health-boosting properties that are also responsible for rosemary’s pleasing aroma.
Anti-Inflammatory
A review published this year in Molecules studied the anti-inflammatory effects of whole rosemary in ground and distilled forms. A daily dose of rosemary powder or extract was provided to mice daily for 21 days to treat inflammatory injuries, including swollen extremities, acute liver injury, and asthma. Both forms of rosemary treatment showed diverse anti-inflammatory activity across multiple biomarkers, during and after the treatment period.[v]
You may not need to ingest rosemary to benefit from these anti-inflammatory properties. Diffused rosemary essential oil was shown to be a potentially useful adjunct to anti-inflammatory drug treatment in a study using rats.[vi] A topical application of rosemary leaf extract was also found to possess anti-inflammatory potency similar to the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin.[vii]
Antioxidant
When you consume an antioxidant substance, the boost to your body helps to fortify cells against oxidative damage. According to research published in 2020, rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid are the phytoactive phenolic compounds in rosemary that were found to bestow the most anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits to the body.[viii] In a 2015 paper published in Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, researchers evaluated the protective effect of rosmarinic acid for systemic inflammation and found that it caused a substantial reduction in inflammation,[ix] evidence of potent antioxidant effects.
A rosemary extract containing high concentrations of carnosic acid compounds was tested for anti-proliferative effects against human prostate cancer cells in vitro in a study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2019. Results showed that the rosemary extract promoted antioxidant activity and reduced cancer cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner.[x] Researchers deemed rosemary plants useful for conceptualizing new drugs to effectively fight cancer and free radical-mediated diseases.
Analgesic
Analgesic substances act to relieve pain, making them indispensable in the modern medicine cabinet. But drug-based analgesics can be toxic to your liver and may carry dangerous risks of dependency. Herbal analgesics are typically nontoxic, non-habit-forming alternatives that can safely assuage pain; some are even proven to work as well as their clinical counterparts.
A 2007 trial published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology investigated the analgesic properties of rosemary extract using three different experimental pain models. Response curves were calculated to determine the optimal dosage and timing for analgesic effects. Pain relief was observed in all pain models, with effects similar to those produced by tramadol, a narcotic with a high risk for addiction and dependence.[xi]
A later study published in Planta Medica on rosemary’s analgesic properties identified 11 chemical compounds that may contribute to its painkilling quality.[xii] Researchers determined that rosemary’s ability to relieve pain involves the serotonergic system—a transmitter system in the brain—including endogenous opioids.[xiii]
Anxiety Relief
It’s estimated that 264 million people worldwide suffer from anxiety.[xiv] Aromatherapy is a simple and effective way to de-stress, and there may be no herb better suited to boosting your mood than the distilled extract of rosemary leaves.
In a neurological study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience in 1998, researchers tested rosemary and lavender essential oils for their effects on alertness and mood. Forty adults were assessed after three-minute aromatherapy sessions to determine each oil’s effects on brain wave activity, level of alertness, and self-reported mood. True to its traditional reputation, rosemary essential oil was found to be an effective anxiety aid.[xv]
In the study, lavender’s usefulness as a relaxant was also validated. Participants in the lavender test group showed increased beta brain waves, indicating drowsiness, and reported better mood and feeling more relaxed. The rosemary group demonstrated increased alertness through decreased frontal alpha and beta brain waves and reported lower anxiety and feeling more relaxed and alert.[xvi]
Adding a few drops of rosemary essential oil to a diffuser can be a simple way to soothe stressed nerves throughout the day, and placing a lavender-scented sachet inside your pillowcase can provide a calming, relaxing effect to ease you into sleep at night.
Cognition Enhancement
If you’re prone to “senior moments,” you aren’t alone: In the United States, 1 in 9 adults aged 45 and older have reported symptoms of memory loss.[xvii] Mild cognitive impairment is an age-related condition that is increasingly common but may be helped by the support of brain-boosting supplements such as rosemary.
A 2022 meta-analysis on rosemary’s cognition-enhancing effects reviewed 22 animal studies to determine the qualitative and quantitative effects. Overall, rosemary improved cognitive outcomes in both normal and cognitively impaired animals, with robust results across species, type of extract, duration of treatment, and type of memory.[xviii] Researchers acknowledged that rosemary’s reputation as “the herb of remembrance” isn’t hearsay.[xix]
Neuroprotection
When cognitive decline isn’t curtailed, it may give way to dementia, a general diagnosis of the impaired ability to think, remember, and make normal, everyday decisions. It’s projected that as many as 14 million people in the United States could suffer from dementia by the year 2060.[xx] Supplementation with rosemary may help to stave off cognitive decline that can lead to this devastating diagnosis.
In a study published in Phytomedicine in 2018, rosemary was tested in a placebo-controlled trial of a combined herbal extract on memory enhancement in healthy older adults. The extract combined three traditional medicinal herbs, rosemary, sage, and lemon balm. The 44 study participants were blinded and randomized to take the herbal extract or a placebo for a single, two-week term. Immediate and delayed word recall was used to assess memory after taking the active extract or placebo each day.
Results showed that, in as little as two weeks, the herbal extract containing rosemary was significantly more effective than the placebo at enhancing memory in individuals younger than 63, with no adverse effects. Researchers called for further research on this “simple, cost-effective” protocol for its potential as an adjunct treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in the general aging population.[xxi]
Antidepressant
Depression is a natural state of mood that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. But what to do when a depressed mood becomes more than a passing phase, and you’re averse to potentially addicting, long-term drug therapy? Why not try adding more rosemary to your life?
Massage is a holistic healing modality with known therapeutic benefits. By combining the powerful effects of aromatherapy with a healing touch, you get a two-fold boost that has been clinically proven to improve mood. A study this year on elders living in a nursing care facility found that a 20-minute aromatherapy massage using oil infused with lavender, chamomile, and rosemary extracts significantly reduced anxiety and depression.[xxii]
Another easy way to boost your mood is as simple as drinking a daily cup of rosemary tea. A 2021 study found that healthy subjects between 20 and 50 years of age who consumed a 5-gram infusion of rosemary tea daily for 10 days showed significantly improved blood plasma biomarkers for anxiety and depression.[xxiii] Research findings highlighted the promise of rosemary as both an anti-anxiety treatment and an antidepressant, with rosemary increasing the most reliable biomarker for depression.[xxiv]
To learn more about the health benefits of rosemary, consult GreenMedInfo.com, the world’s most widely referenced, evidence-based natural medical resource.
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