Rosemary has many virtues. Essential plant in herbal medicine and aromatherapy, it is a renowned diuretic, an outstanding stimulant to chase fatigue or promote digestion, or an effective solution to treat more than one disease. But did you know its qualities as a memory and cognitive performance booster? A new study, published this month in the Journal of Psychopharmacology reveal them.
To do this, researchers at Northumbria University (United Kingdom) studied the effect, on cognitive functioning and cerebrovascular activity, of a drink containing an extract of rosemary hydrosol. Randomly, 80 people consumed these 250 mL of rosemary water or regular mineral water. Twenty minutes after ingestion, participants performed a series of tests assessing their ability to retain and manipulate information. At the same time, their cerebral blood flow (total hemoglobin, oxygenated and deoxygenated) was measured by spectroscopy, to assess how efficiently the body was extracting energy.
“Turbocharger for the brain”
In the end, the group that consumed the rosemary water saw its performance increase by 15% on average compared to the placebo group. Their levels of deoxygenated red blood cells in the cerebral blood stream were also higher. This indicates that their brains were drawing the energy they needed to do the job more efficiently. The researchers believe the study is “Proof of a cerebrovascular benefit from the ingestion of rosemary” and that she “Suggests better oxygen extraction in the control group during cognitive tasks”.
These results confirm a previous study carried out by the same team, which already showed that the scent of rosemary stimulated cognitive performance. “Rosemary offers a number of interesting health promotion applications, ranging from antioxidant and antimicrobial activities to hepatoprotective and antitumorigenic activities.”, Explain in a press release Dr Mark Moss, author of the report. According to him, the plant would act as a “Turbocharger for the brain”, that is, it would supercharge it with oxygen.
Scientists also point out that rosemary has been associated with improving memory since ancient times, when Greek students wore a branch around their necks during their exams. They also cite Shakespeare’s play Hameau, act 4 scene 5: “There is rosemary, it is for the memory. Pray, my love, remember ».
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