Rosemary has been linked to memory

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Feeling forgetful? Shakespeare had a herb for it

By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent

(Filed: 14/03/2002)

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SHAKESPEARE and the ancient Egyptians were right: rosemary can improve your

memory, researchers have shown.

 

In a series of experiments, essential oil from the herb increased alertness

and enhanced long-term memory by around 15 per cent.

 

The same tests also showed that lavender - used by many people as a

sedative and relaxant - slows down the brain and impairs some types of memory.

 

Rosemary has been linked to memory and fidelity since written records

began. The ancient Egyptians used it in wedding and funeral rituals, while

Banke's herbal, written in 1525, advises: " smell of it oft, and it shall

keep thee youngly " .

 

The most famous literary reference comes in Hamlet when Ophelia declares:

" There's rosemary, that's for remembrance: pray, love, remember. " It is

used in modern-day herbal medicine as a mild painkiller and for migraines

and digestive problems.

 

A team of psychologists at Northumbria University, Newcastle, tested the

effects of essential oils from rosemary and lavender on memory, attention

and mood.

 

Dr Mark Moss, who presented the findings yesterday at the British

Psychology Society conference in Blackpool, said: " It is ingrained in the

human psyche that plants and aromas have benefits. The benefit of aromas

have been left to alternative practitioners and nobody has spent a great

deal of time scientifically assessing their effects. "

 

The researchers divided 132 volunteers into three groups. Each volunteer

was asked to sit in a booth and carry out a standard series of memory and

attention tests. Two groups sat in booths sprayed with lavender or rosemary

oil, while the third control group sat in a booth with no fragrance.

 

In one of the tests, the volunteers were asked to memorise a list of 15

words, then recall them immediately and after 30 minutes. They were also

asked to comment on their mood before and after the tests.

 

The volunteers were kept in the dark about the reason for the experiment,

and were told that it was designed to explore how the tests affected the mood.

 

Lavender slowed reaction, reduced the volunteers' attention and impaired

their working memory - the part of the brain that puts facts " on hold "

before storing them in long-term memory. Rosemary enhanced the long-term

memory by around 15 per cent, but had no effect on working memory.

 

" Lavender seems to have a consistent sedative effect, " said Dr Moss.

" Rosemary's effect was only in the long-term memory. " Rosemary made the

volunteers more alert, while both herbs increased feelings of contentment.

 

" Aromas do effect people through pharmacological mechanisms, and they do

definitely, " said Dr Moss. " Volatile molecules from essential oils can be

absorbed into the bloodstream through the nose. The chemicals also

stimulate the olfactory nerve in the nose directly, which could have

effects on brain functioning, " he said.

 

There was some evidence that rosemary made people " jittery " and so did not

increase their reaction times. " What is interesting is the possibility of

using Rosemary over a long period to maintain cognitive performance. It

could be that a bit more rosemary with lunch maintains a healthy mind

throughout life. "