Rosemary

Botanical Name - Rosmarinus officinalis

Category - Aromatic/Medicinal

Form - Fresh/Dry

Part Used - Leaves, Flowers, Twings

General Information - Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemery-family Lamiaceae) is one of the oldest Mediterranean shrubs with powerful pungent aroma and dark green elongated leaves and white or purple flowers. The rosemary herb was used as a food seasoning and natural medicine for over a million years. The name Rosmarinus derives from the Latin term that translates to â??dew of the sea.â?? Rosemary is a symbol of remembrance, since ancient Greece and Rome. Greeks used the herb to help their memory, to expel negativity by placing the sacred herb under the pillow, and to prevent nightmares. Dioscorides, Theophanus and Conrad Gesner, and ancient healers recognized the beneficial effects of rosemary in dealing with brain, liver, heart, and eye problems. According to legend, when Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were fleeing to Egypt, Mary laid her cloak on a rosemary bush, and since that time, rosemary bush was called the Rose of Mary in honor of the Virgin Mary.

Phytochemicals- R. officinalis leaves added to vinegar (marinade) make a great flavoring component in preparation of meat, shellfish, and vegetables. Rosemary plant is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and folate, as well as such important minerals like Ca, Mg, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and copper. Carnosic acid and carnosol (rosemary polyphenol) pose chemopreventive, antioxidant, and anticancer activities against prostate, skin, breast, leukemia, lung, urinary bladder, and colon cancers through genes that encode antioxidant phase II enzymes. As anti-inflammatory, carnosol has ability to reduce leukotrienes, inhibit 5-lipoxygenase, antagonize the intracellular Ca2 + mobilization, and inhibit the secretion of leukocyte elastase. Triterpenoid compound ursolic acid has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and even antidepressant effects.