Rosemary: The Miracle Herb

Rosemary, the genus Rosmarinus officinalis L, is a member of the mint family and is a common aromatic herb plant used often in both cooking and herbal medicine. It contains volatile oils, flavonoids, phenolic acids such as rosmarinic acid, diterpenes such as carnosoic acid (CA), and rosmarinquinone; rosmaricine, and triterpenes.  “These compounds display a vast array of pharmacological effects ranging between antioxidant, metal chelation, and anti-inflammatory properties” (Habtemariam, 2016). Rosemary is a carminative, antispasmodic, antidepressant, rubefacient, antimicrobial and an emmenagogue.  It is also a circulatory and nervine stimulant with a calming effect on digestion, and treats conditions such as flatulent dyspepsia with headache or depression associated with debility, and used externally for muscular pain, sciatica, neuralgia, and even premature baldness (Hoffman, 2003).  Rosemary has no known drug interactions.

The benefits of rosemary have been known for many years in the academic community demonstrated by a study in 1993 studying the inhibitory effects of CA on HIV-1 protease.  CA, carnosol, rosmanol, and semisynthetic derivatives were compared against HIV-1 protease and CA showed the strongest inhibitory effect and assayed against HIV-1 virus replication.  Cytotic TC0- and H9 lymphocytes were close to the same levels as those on antivirals used at the time (Paris et al., 1993).

In a study by de Oliveira, et al. (2017), biological activities were evaluated for antimicrobial effects on mono and polymicrobial biofilms, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory capacity, and genotoxicity.  Cytotoxic effects were examined on macrophages, gingival fibroblasts, breast carcinoma cells, and cervical carcinoma cells after exposure to rosemary extract.  Results indicated “significant reductions in colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL) were observed in all biofilms [and] it was observed that concentrations ≤ 50 mg/mL provided cell viability of above 50%. Production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the treated groups was similar or lower compared to the control group. It was shown that R. officinalis L. extract was effective on mono- and polymicrobial biofilms; it also provided cell viability of above 50% (at ≤ 50 mg/mL), showed anti-inflammatory effect, and was not genotoxic.”  Rosemary can block the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B inflammatory cytokines (Pizzorno, 2013). Additionally, rosemary potentiates the antioxidant effects of glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase (Martin & Prakash, 2013).

Carnosic acid is being researched for weight loss and pre-metabolic syndrome. In this study, mice were evaluated for the preventive effects of rosemary extract on weight gain, glucose levels, and lipid homeostasis in mice fed a high-fat diet as juveniles. A group fed a high-fat diet were fed CA for 16 weeks.  The treatment group resulted in increased faecal fat excretion and reduced fasting glycaemia and plasma cholesterol levels. The study suggested that CA rich sources can be used as a preventative measure against metabolic disorders.  Glucose lowering effects of rosemary are attributed to PPAR- γ activation, and is a pancreatic lipase inhibitor affecting lipid absorption (Ibarra et al., 2011). Canosic acid accounts for over 90% of rosemary’s antioxidant properties, as well as lipid peroxidation inhibitory effects in lysosomes and microsomes.  CA protects human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Acrylamide is a neurotoxic substance formed in starchy foods cooked at temperatures above 120°C due to an interaction between monosaccharides and asparagine. In this study, ARPE-19 cells were pre-treated with 10μM CA for 24 hours followed by treatment with acrylamide for 24 h. The cells pretreated with CA showed significantly increased cell viability and decreased cell death rate when compared to cells treated only with acrylamide. “Activities of SOD and catalase and the level of GSH and expression of NRF2 and a number of anti-oxidant genes were significantly decreased in ARPE-19 cells, while there were significant increases in ROS and malondialdehyde; pre-treatment with CA significantly counteracted these changes” (Albalawi, Alhasani, Biswas, Reilly, & Shu, 2017).

Now for the reason I chose this herb: its neuroprotective properties and use with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients.  A defining aspect of AD is the formation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) proteins which induce neurotoxicity leading to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction yielding neuronal death. In a study using human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, CA was investigated to assess neuroprotective effects on the Aβ-induced toxicity. Findings indicated “pretreatment alleviated the Aβ25-35-induced loss of cell viability, inhibited both Aβ1-42 accumulation and tau hyperphosphorylation, reduced reactive oxygen species generation, and maintained the mitochondrial membrane potential.” To simplify additional findings, CA induces autophagy suggesting autophagy is involved in its neuroprotection function (Lie, Su, & Qu, 2016).  In addition to autophagy, another study examined how CA attenuate apoptosis induced by Aβ in neuroblastoma cells. “Results suggest that CA suppressed the activation of caspase cascades by reducing the intracellular oligomerization of exogenous Aβ42/43 monomer. The ingestion of an adequate amount of CA may have a potential in the prevention of Aβ-mediated diseases, particularly AD” (Meng et al., 2015).  Aβ peptides are formed when amyloid precursor protein is cleaved by β- and γ-secretases; however, cleavage by α- and γ-secretases decreases Aβ production. In Yoshida’s study (2014), CA suppresses Aβ production by activating α-secretase and results suggest that CA reduces Aβ production by activating tumor necrosis factor-α-converting enzyme in human astroglial cells. 

A final note regarding rosemary and AD is treatment as an aromatherapy.  In a 28-day study of elderly with dementia and AD, all patients showed significant cognitive improvement using relevant testing after aromatherapy treatment including rosemary (Jimbo, Kimura, Taniguchi, Inoue, & Urakami, 2009).  Given rosemary’s tremendous potential as an herbal medicine, it should be a “go to” herb for those seeking the benefits of anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, antimicrobial, and cutting edge research in neuroprotection.

References

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