Does Rosemary Actually Improve Your Memory and Cognition?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Rosemary?Cognitive EnhancerWhy It Benefits the Brain

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is Rosemary?

Cognitive Enhancer

Why It Benefits the Brain

Close

First, it’s important to understand what rosemary is. Rosemary (scientific name:rosmarinus officinalis)is an herb with needle-like leaves. It’s a perennial, meaning that once you plant it, it should re-grow every year when the whether is warm enough for it to do so.

It’s native to Asia and the Mediterranean, but it is grown in the United States, as well.Rosemary is related to the mint family of plants. When it blooms, its flower are white, purple, pink or deep blue.

Rosemary is often used as a spice in food, including soups, stew, meat, chicken, fish and other Mediterranean food, and it has a somewhat bitter flavor. Some people also enjoy tea flavored with rosemary. Rosemary is also used as a perfume and added to shampoo, conditioner and soap.

Rosemary as a Cognitive Enhancer?

Here’s what research has found about rosemary and its effects on cognitive function.

Rosemary Consumption

One study that involved 28 older adults found that a consumption of a low dose, but not a higher dose, of dried rosemary powder, was associated with statistically significantly improved memory speed.

Rosemary Aroma

Some research looked at how the smell of rosemary affectscognition. Participants were exposed to the aroma of rosemary while performing visual processing tasks and serial subtraction tasks. With higher amounts of the rosemary aroma, both speed and accuracy in the tasks increased.

Research that was presented at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society also highlighted the benefits of the aroma of rosemary. Research included 40 school-age children who were placed either in a room that contained the rosemary aroma or another room without an aroma.

Rosemary Essential Oil

Another study was performed with 53 students who were between 13 and 15 years old. Researchers found that their memory of images and numbers improved when theessential oilof rosemary was sprayed in the room.

Rosemary Water

One study involved 80 adults who drank 250 milliliters of rosemary water or mineral water. Those who drank the rosemary water demonstrated a small improvement in cognitive functioning as compared to those who drank the mineral water.

Studies in Mice and Rats

Several other studies have been published in peer reviewed journals about the effect of rosemary consumption, with results that fairly consistently show benefits in memory associated with rosemary. However, those studies were performed with rats and mice, and it is unknown if those benefits would hold true to humans. Thus, they’re not included in this summary of research.

Why Might Rosemary Benefit the Brain?

It’s unknown for sure why there may be a benefit from rosemary, but one theory is that rosemary appears to have some antioxidant properties which may offer some healing for the damage in our bodies due to free radicals.

A Word From Verywell

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.Rosemary.Pengelly A, Snow J, Mills SY, Scholey A, Wesnes K, Butler LR.Short-term study on the effects of rosemary on cognitive function in an elderly population.J Med Food. 2012;15(1):10-7. doi:10.1089/jmf.2011.0005Moss M, Oliver L.Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2012;2(3):103-13. doi:10.1177/2045125312436573The British Psychological Society.Rosemary aroma can aid children’s working memory.Filiptsova O, Gazzavi-Rogozina L, Timoshyna I, Naboka O, Dyomina Y & Ochkur A.The essential oil of rosemary and its effect on the human image and numerical short-term memory.Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 4(2), pp.107-111. doi:10.1016/j.ejbas.2017.04.002Moss M, Smith E, Milner M, Mccready J.Acute ingestion of rosemary water: evidence of cognitive and cerebrovascular effects in healthy adults.J Psychopharmacol(Oxford). 2018;32(12):1319-1329. doi:10.1177/0269881118798339

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.Rosemary.Pengelly A, Snow J, Mills SY, Scholey A, Wesnes K, Butler LR.Short-term study on the effects of rosemary on cognitive function in an elderly population.J Med Food. 2012;15(1):10-7. doi:10.1089/jmf.2011.0005Moss M, Oliver L.Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2012;2(3):103-13. doi:10.1177/2045125312436573The British Psychological Society.Rosemary aroma can aid children’s working memory.Filiptsova O, Gazzavi-Rogozina L, Timoshyna I, Naboka O, Dyomina Y & Ochkur A.The essential oil of rosemary and its effect on the human image and numerical short-term memory.Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 4(2), pp.107-111. doi:10.1016/j.ejbas.2017.04.002Moss M, Smith E, Milner M, Mccready J.Acute ingestion of rosemary water: evidence of cognitive and cerebrovascular effects in healthy adults.J Psychopharmacol(Oxford). 2018;32(12):1319-1329. doi:10.1177/0269881118798339

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.Rosemary.Pengelly A, Snow J, Mills SY, Scholey A, Wesnes K, Butler LR.Short-term study on the effects of rosemary on cognitive function in an elderly population.J Med Food. 2012;15(1):10-7. doi:10.1089/jmf.2011.0005Moss M, Oliver L.Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2012;2(3):103-13. doi:10.1177/2045125312436573The British Psychological Society.Rosemary aroma can aid children’s working memory.Filiptsova O, Gazzavi-Rogozina L, Timoshyna I, Naboka O, Dyomina Y & Ochkur A.The essential oil of rosemary and its effect on the human image and numerical short-term memory.Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 4(2), pp.107-111. doi:10.1016/j.ejbas.2017.04.002Moss M, Smith E, Milner M, Mccready J.Acute ingestion of rosemary water: evidence of cognitive and cerebrovascular effects in healthy adults.J Psychopharmacol(Oxford). 2018;32(12):1319-1329. doi:10.1177/0269881118798339

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.Rosemary.

Pengelly A, Snow J, Mills SY, Scholey A, Wesnes K, Butler LR.Short-term study on the effects of rosemary on cognitive function in an elderly population.J Med Food. 2012;15(1):10-7. doi:10.1089/jmf.2011.0005

Moss M, Oliver L.Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2012;2(3):103-13. doi:10.1177/2045125312436573

The British Psychological Society.Rosemary aroma can aid children’s working memory.

Filiptsova O, Gazzavi-Rogozina L, Timoshyna I, Naboka O, Dyomina Y & Ochkur A.The essential oil of rosemary and its effect on the human image and numerical short-term memory.Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 4(2), pp.107-111. doi:10.1016/j.ejbas.2017.04.002

Moss M, Smith E, Milner M, Mccready J.Acute ingestion of rosemary water: evidence of cognitive and cerebrovascular effects in healthy adults.J Psychopharmacol(Oxford). 2018;32(12):1319-1329. doi:10.1177/0269881118798339

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?