Functional Evaluation of the Ethanol Extracts from Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Rosemary)

Rosemary is used as an herb in cooking and aromatic oils, and has long been used as a medicinal herb because of its functional components. According to folklore, monks recommended a remedy of rosemary in alcohol (“Hungarian water”) to a Hungarian queen suffering from limb numbness, resulting in instant recovery and rejuvenation. This is why the queen married a 20-year-old king of Holland while in her seventies. In order to clarify the “rejuvenation” mechanisms of traditional Hungarian water, we examined the anti-oxidant activity, anti-glycation activity, inhibition of melanin production and suppression of tumor growth of ethanol extracts of rosemary in this study. It was found that the ethanol extract had high anti-oxidant activity, high anti-glycation activity, high inhibition of melanin production and high suppression of tumor cell growth.