Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Extract as a Potential Complementary Agent in Anticancer Therapy

• Published in: Nutrition and cancer Vol. 67; no. 8; pp. 1223 - 1231
• Main Authors: González-Vallinas, Margarita, Reglero, Guillermo, Ramírez de Molina, Ana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 17-11-2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Abietanes - therapeutic use; animals; antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; antioxidant activity; Antioxidants; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Cinnamates - therapeutic use; Correlation analysis; Depsides - therapeutic use; Drug Interactions; Europe; Food and Drug Administration; food safety; foods; Herbal medicine; human health; Humans; Inhibitor drugs; mortality; neoplasms; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Oncology; Pharmacology; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; rosemary; Rosmarinic Acid; Rosmarinus - chemistry; Rosmarinus officinalis; therapeutics; Triterpenes - therapeutic use; Tumors; United States; United States Food and Drug Administration; Ursolic Acid; United States; Europe
• ISSN: 1532-7914; 0163-5581; 1532-7914
• DOI: 10.1080/01635581.2015.1082110

Cancer remains an important cause of mortality nowadays and, therefore, new therapeutic approaches are still needed. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) has been reported to possess antitumor activities both in vitro and in animal studies. Some of these activities were attributed to its major components, such as carnosic acid, carnosol, ursolic acid, and rosmarinic acid. Initially, the antitumor effects of rosemary were attributed to its antioxidant activity. However, in recent years, a lack of correlation between antioxidant and antitumor effects exerted by rosemary was reported, and different molecular mechanisms were related to its tumor inhibitory properties. Moreover, supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food and Safety Authority, specific compositions of rosemary extract were demonstrated to be safe for human health and used as antioxidant additive in foods, suggesting the potential easy application of this agent as a complementary approach in cancer therapy. In this review, we aim to summarize the reported anticancer effects of rosemary, the demonstrated molecular mechanisms related to these effects and the interactions between rosemary and currently used anticancer agents. The possibility of using rosemary extract as a complementary agent in cancer therapy in comparison with its isolated components is discussed.