Scent of Rosemary May Boost Cognitive Performance

[Guest guest]

FYI. s. fuchs dc

Scent

of Rosemary May Boost Cognitive Performance

March 1, 2012 — The aroma of rosemary may boost cognitive

performance, results of a new study suggest.

Investigators

found that healthy volunteers performed better on mental arithmetic tasks when

exposed to 1,8-cineole, one of the main chemical components of rosemary

essential oil. Greater absorption (higher blood concentrations) was associated

with greater speed and accuracy on the tests.

" The

significant correlations reported in the study suggest that the presence of

1,8-cineole in the blood can potentially enhance some aspects of cognition

— in this study, mental arithmetic, " first author Mark Moss, PhD, of

the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre at Northumbria University,

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, told Medscape

Medical News.

The study

was published online February 24 in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology.

Dr. Moss

said he has been researching aromas on and off for the last 10 years. In the

current study, he and coinvestigator Lorraine Oliver, MSc, assessed cognitive

performance and mood in 20 healthy volunteers exposed to 1,8-cineole.

The study

participants performed serial subtraction and visual information processing

tasks in a cubicle diffused with the aroma of rosemary. They did not know that

the researchers were testing the effects of rosemary aroma on cognitive

performance and mood; those who asked about the aroma were told that it had

nothing to do with the testing and that it was left over from a previous study.

To ensure

a range of absorption levels, participants were randomly assigned to be exposed

to the aroma for 4, 6, 8, or 10 minutes before completing the cognitive tests.

Mood assessments were made before and after testing, and venous blood was

sampled at the end of the testing session.

Medium to Large Effects

The

researchers report that serum levels of 1,8-cineole correlated with performance

outcomes (number of correct responses and reaction times) for each task. They

saw " medium to large effects by Cohen's definitions " for the serial

threes and serial sevens subtraction tasks but not the rapid visual information

processing (RVIP) task. The RVIP task provides an assessment of sustained

attention and central executive function, whereas the serial subtraction tasks

assess continuous working memory, arithmetic processing, and central executive

composition, the authors note.

The

relationships between 1,8-cineole levels and mood were " less

pronounced. " There was no strong evidence that exposure to 1,8-cineole

improved attention or alertness. However, there was evidence of a significant

negative correlation between change in contentment levels and plasma levels of

1,8-cineole.

" Only

contentedness possessed a significant relationship with 1,8-cineole levels, and

interestingly to some of the cognitive performance outcomes, leading to the

intriguing proposal that positive mood can improve performance whereas aroused

mood cannot, " the authors write.

Summing

up, the investigators note that the findings suggest that compounds absorbed

from rosemary aroma affect cognition and subjective state independently through

different neurochemical pathways.

" The

clinical implications are, at this time, unknown, " said Dr. Moss,

" but there is an ever-increasing interest in the potential for herbal

extracts to be used to try and prevent or slow age-related cognitive decline. This

avenue of research is going to continue, as this study only had a small sample

and needs replicating on a much larger scale, " he added.

Implications for Alzheimer's?

Commenting

on the study for Medscape Medical News,

Ilkay Orhan, PhD, from the Department of Pharmacognosy, Gazi

University, Ankara, Turkey,

who was not involved in the research, said it has been recognized for some time

that essential oils stimulate cognition.

" 1,8-Cineole

is a simple monoterpene-type of compound [that] exists in many essential oils.

The compound has ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase, which is the key

enzyme in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease [AD], " Dr. Orhan

explained.

" However,

its inhibition capacity is moderate, and it acts with other similar compounds

such as alpha-pinene and beta-pinene in a synergistic way, and all of them

produce a remarkable cholinesterase inhibition. This is one mechanism that I

know for 1,8-cineole for cognitive enhancement, " he said.

" Cholinesterase

inhibitors are now the most prescribed drug class at the moment for the

treatment of AD, and therefore cholinesterase-inhibiting compounds are

important in drug design and discovery against this disease, " Dr. Orhan

added.

The study received no specific grant from any funding agency

in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors and Dr. Orhan

have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Ther Adv Psychopharm. Published online

February 24, 2012. Abstract

Medscape

Medical News © 2012 WebMD, LLC

Send comments and news tips to news@....