Rosemary: Description - Uses in Culinary and Medicinal Uses

Common Name: Rosemary

Scientific Name: Salvia rosmarinus, belonging to the Lamiaceae family, order Lamiales, class Angiosperms.

Description: Rosemary is an aromatic, evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region and Asia. Its leaves are needle-like, and its flowers are white, pink, purple, or blue. Rosemary plants can be upright or prostrate. Upright varieties can reach a height of 1.5 meters, and rarely 2 meters. The leaves are evergreen, with a green upper surface and a white underside covered in short, dense, woolly hairs.

Culinary Uses: Rosemary leaves are used to flavor dishes such as stuffed vegetables and roasted lamb, chicken, and turkey. Fresh or dried leaves are used in traditional Mediterranean cuisine. The leaves have a bitter, astringent taste and a distinctive aroma, and are used to make herbal tea. When roasted with meat or vegetables, they impart a mustard-like aroma with an added hint of charred wood, which pairs well with grilled foods.

Medical Uses: Rosemary is a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, which are believed to help boost the immune system and improve blood circulation. The antioxidants in rosemary play an important role in neutralizing harmful particles called free radicals.

In Europe, rosemary is often used to help treat indigestion. The scent of rosemary improves concentration, performance, speed, and accuracy, and to a lesser extent, mood. Rosemary has also been found to be beneficial for the brain because it contains a component called carnosic acid, which can counteract the damage caused by free radicals in the brain. Rosemary may also be beneficial for stroke survivors, as it protects against brain damage and may improve recovery. Therefore, rosemary may significantly help prevent brain aging, with its promising therapeutic potential in preventing Alzheimer's disease.

Crude ethanolic extract of rosemary has been found to slow the spread of leukemia and breast cancer cells. Rosemary extract has also been found to have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. Furthermore, adding rosemary extract to ground meat has been found to reduce the formation of carcinogenic agents that can develop during cooking.

Carnosic acid, a key component of rosemary, has been found to significantly improve eye health. Therefore, it has clinical applications for diseases affecting the outer layer of the retina, such as age-related macular degeneration—the most common eye disease in the United States.