Rosemary is an evergreen shrub, popular since antiquity, with extremely fragrant pale blue and off-white flowers that attract wildlife.
Native in the Mediterranean region, is now widely cultivated and used throughout the world. The essential oils that reduce anxiety, fatigue and stimulate memory. It has a long history of traditional use, and the ancient Greeks and Romans put its medicinal properties to good use.
It is part of the Lamiaceae family, along with mint, thyme, oregano and lavender.
We can enjoy the benefits of rosemary using its fresh or dried leaves, in infusions, using essential oils for topical use, inhalation.
This plant can be found in our infusions: infusion 1 and 2
In addition to its medicinal properties, it is an excellent shrub to have in the garden for its beauty, low watering and soil quality requirements and for being an incredible plant that attracts bees, butterflies and pollinating insects, stimulating biodiversity.
What makes rosemary so special?
Rosemary is particularly interesting for its neuropharmacological properties. And the results of scientific studies that prove its effect on mood, learning, memory, pain, anxiety and sleep are absolutely fascinating.
From the isolated chemical compounds up to the present day, everything suggests that rosmarinic and carnosic acids are responsible for these promising properties.
In the modern world, where more and more people suffer from stress, anxiety and depression and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, could rosemary be an ally?
What are the benefits of Rosemary?
The medicinal uses of rosemary have been praised for centuries and science has proven some of its properties such as:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Anti-microbial
- Anti-tumor
- Neuroprotective
- Anti-depressant and anti-anxiety
- Memory booster
On a nutritional level, rosemary is also an excellent source of B vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and manganese.
Curiosities:
- Rosemary is part of the famous French spice “Herbes de Provence”
- Due to its characteristic aroma, the Romans called it rosmarinus, which in Latin means dew of the sea.
- It is said that Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, who lived in the 13th century and who suffered from gout, regained her health and was rejuvenated thanks to rosemary. The recipe for water of youth would consist of rosemary, lavender and pennyroyal.
Sources:
- Rahbardar, M. Ghasemzadeh e Hosseinzadeh, Hossein, 2020, Therapeutic effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and its active constituents on nervous system disorders
- Reader’s Digest Selection, 1983, Segredos e Virtudes das Plantas Medicinais