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Today, we normally use rosemary as a delicious addition to our favorite recipes. As a flavor-packed herb, rosemary can offer just the perfect kick to any chicken, steak, or veggie dish.
If you’ve ever actually read anything about rosemary, you’ve probably also heard that it was once dubbed the “herb of remembrance” from the Elizabethan Era through the Early Romantic Period.
Aside from its ability to enhance a person’s memory, rosemary was also believed to protect a sleeper from having terrible nightmares.
More recently, scientists have found that the link between rosemary and enhanced memory may actually be a lot more than just an ancient belief.
A 2012 study in the Journal of Medicinal Food took a look at 28 elderly individuals and, surprisingly, found improved cognitive performance in participants who were given doses of dried rosemary powder.
Another study by Lorraine Oliver and Mark Moss, from Northumbria University, Newcastle, identified 1, 8-cineole—a compound found in rosemary—as the agent potentially responsible for enhanced cognitive performance.
To prove their hypothesis, the researchers diffused drops of rosemary essential oil in certain testing rooms and randomly allocated participants into either the rosemary-scented rooms or another room with no scent.
In each room, the participants were asked to complete a test designed to assess their memory functions.
According to the researchers, blood samples were taken from each participant and analyzed to see how much 1, 8-cineole was present in their blood.
According to the Daily Mail, “The results from the blood analysis found that significantly greater amounts of 1,8-cineole were present in the plasma of those in the rosemary scented room, suggesting that sniffing the aroma led to higher concentrations.”
Plenty of previous research has also found that molecules from essential oils can be effectively absorbed into the bloodstream through the nose, which is why sniffing rosemary has proven to be so effective for memory improvement.
Have you ever tried sniffing rosemary for memory improvement? Let us know in the comments!
Photo Copyright © 2012 warrenski/Flickr
