Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is an evergreen shrub with needle-like leaves and a woody aroma. Though best known as a food seasoning, it is one of the most popular aromatic and medicinal plants worldwide.
Rosemary’s essential oil — which holds the plant’s core components, or essence — is extracted and sold in small bottles. Despite its name, it is not a true oil, as it doesn’t contain fat. Due to rosemary oil’s use in folk medicine, many scientists are now testing its potential health benefits.
Though most of this research is just beginning, it supports some traditional uses of the oil and illustrates possible new uses.
Here are benefits and uses of rosemary essential oil.
May Improve Brain Function
In ancient Greece and Rome, rosemary was thought to strengthen memory.
Research indicates that inhaling rosemary oil helps prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical important for thinking, concentration and memory.
Additionally, their blood levels of certain rosemary compounds likewise increased — illustrating that rosemary can enter your body through breathing alone.
Stimulates Hair Growth
One of the most common types of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, better known as male pattern baldness, though it can also affect females.
Rosemary oil treats androgenetic alopecia by preventing a byproduct of testosterone from attacking your hair follicles, which is the cause of this condition.
Additionally, those who used the rosemary oil reported less scalp itching compared to minoxidil, which suggests that rosemary may be more tolerable.
May Help Relieve Pain
In a two-week study, stroke survivors with shoulder pain who received a rosemary oil blend with acupressure for 20 minutes twice daily experienced a 30% reduction in pain. Those who received only acupressure had a 15% reduction in pain. Additionally, an animal study determined that rosemary oil was slightly more effective for pain than acetaminophen, a common over-the-counter pain medication.
Repels Certain Bugs
Rosemary also helps repel certain blood-sucking insects that can spread harmful viruses and bacteria.
When rosemary oil was measured against 11 other essential oils, it had the longest repellent effect on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread the Zika virus. A dilution of 12.5% rosemary oil repelled 100% of the mosquitoes for 90 minutes.
May Eases Stress
When nursing students breathed rosemary oil from an inhaler before and during test time, their pulse decreased by about 9% — while no significant change occurred without rosemary oil. Because increased pulse rates reflect short-term stress and anxiety, rosemary oil may naturally reduce stress. Additionally, when 22 young adults sniffed rosemary oil for 5 minutes, their saliva had 23% lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol compared to those who smelled a non-aromatic compound. Increased cortisol levels can suppress your immune system, contribute to insomnia and cause mood swings, among other potential problems.
May Increase Circulation
If you have Raynaud’s disease, blood vessels in your fingers and toes constrict when you’re cold or stressed, causing them to lose their color and turn cold.
Rosemary oil may help by expanding your blood vessels, thereby warming your blood so that it reaches your fingers and toes more easily.
