Rozmaryn – roślina zielarska o potencjale terapeutycznym

*Katarzyna Kowalska, Anna Olejnik

Summary
The use of plants is as old as mankind and plant food-derived antioxidants are increasingly proposed as important dietary antioxidant factors. Natural products are cheap and claimed to be safe. Rosmarinus officinalis L. belonging to the Lamiaceae family, is a spice and medicinal herb widely used around the world. It contains flavonoids, phenols, volatile oil and terpenoids. Among natural antioxidants, rosemary has been widely accepted as one of the spices with the highest antioxidant activity. The main compounds responsible for rosemary's antioxidant properties have been identified as phenolic diterpenes, such as carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmanol, epi-rosmanol, rosmadial and methyl carnosate. Other compounds, such as rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid and flavonoids, have also been associated with the antioxidant activity of rosemary.
In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that rosemary possess diverse pharmacological properties that include antioxidative, anti-inflamatory, anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic effects. Rosemary acts as a scavenger for reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, enhances expression of intracellular endogenous antioxidants, promotes the elimination of procarcinogens by inducing phases I and II detoxification enzymes. The chemopreventive effects of rosemary and its components on carcinogenesis have been attributed their inhibition on cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, reduction in cytokines release, inhibition of angiogenesis by interfering with the activities of metalloproteinases, and apoptosis induction. Besides rosemary was found to suppress the release of important mediators for inflammation and tumorogenesis. Rosemary have also a therapeutic potential in treatment or prevention of hyperglycemia, peptic ulcer and hepatotoxicity.
Experimental studies have clearly demonstrated biological activity of rosemary but not many clinical trials have been performed and none of strong evidence for rosemary therapeutic potential have provided.

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