Rosemary

Rosmarinus, Dew of the Sea

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) formerly Rosmarinus officinalis, is among the best known culinary herbs, but also is an integral botanical in Western Herbal Medicine.

Preparing to harvest some rosemary planted last year in the Wild Rose garden

At a Glance

A pungent aromatic bitter with stimulating and blood-moving essential oils, rosemary is as useful in circulatory tonic, neuroprotective, cardiovascular, digestive and anti-inflammatory formulas when used internally, as it is when used on the skin for muscular and arthritic pain and as a hair and scalp tonic.

Freshly harvested after the morning dew has burned off. Its powerful antioxidants make it one of the best natural preservatives, while its rubefacient action stimulates movement of blood and oxygen when rubbed into the skin. 

In the Wild Rose Apothecary

It helps to maintain a healthy scalp and hair and is used for allopecia (hair loss), and has broad-ranging anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

Our popular beard washes, included in the gift set above, use rosemary as a key ingredient

These actions —combined with the refreshing warming and tingling feeling when applied— make rosemary extract a staple in many of our topical products such as our dry shampoos and beard washes.

Botanical dry shampoos harness the cleansing and refreshing power of rosemary

Jakob preparing the freshly harvested rosemary for herbal medicine extraction at Wild Rose

Selected References

Aruoma, O. I., Halliwell, B., Aeschbach, R., & Löliger, J. (1996). Antioxidant and pro-oxidant properties of active rosemary constituents: Carnosol and carnosic acid. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 44(5), 1315–1318.

Gachkar, L., Yadegari, D., Rezaei, M. B., Taghizadeh, M., Astaneh, S. A., & Rasooli, I. (2007). Chemical and biological characteristics of the essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Food Chemistry, 102, 898–904.

Hernández-Hernández, E., Sánchez-Moreno, C., & De Ancos, B. (2014). Rosmarinus officinalis L. extract: Antioxidant activity and influence on lipid metabolism in rats. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 145, 372–381.

Mendes, A., Carvalho, A. P., & Andrade, P. B. (2016). Evaluation of the topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil. Journal of Medicinal Food, 19(8), 760–769.

Moss, M., Cook, J., Wesnes, K., & Duckett, P. (2003). Aromas of rosemary and lavender essential oils differentially affect cognition and mood in healthy adults. International Journal of Neuroscience, 113, 15–38.

Naimi, M., Vlavcheski, F., Shamshoum, H., & Tsiani, E. (2017). Rosmarinus officinalis extract attenuates palmitate-induced insulin resistance and inflammation in skeletal muscle cells. Journal of Functional Foods, 34, 240–250.

Pengelly, A., Snow, J., Mills, S. Y., Scholey, A., Wesnes, K., & Butler, L. R. (2012). Short-term study on the effects of rosemary on cognitive function in an elderly population. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, 2(3), 103–113.

Takaki, I., Bersani-Amado, C. A., Vendruscolo, A., Sartoretto, S. M., Dantas, J. A., Bersani-Amado, M. F., & Cuman, R. K. N. (2008). Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil in experimental animal models. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 45, 85–92.
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