Anticancer Effects of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Extract and Rosemary Extract Polyphenols.

Jessy Moore,Evangelia Tsiani,Michael Yousef

doi:10.3390/nu8110731

Abstract

Cancer cells display enhanced growth rates and a resistance to apoptosis. The ability of cancer cells to evade homeostasis and proliferate uncontrollably while avoiding programmed cell death/apoptosis is acquired through mutations to key signaling molecules, which regulate pathways involved in cell proliferation and survival. Compounds of plant origin, including food components, have attracted scientific attention for use as agents for cancer prevention and treatment. The exploration into natural products offers great opportunity to evaluate new anticancer agents as well as understand novel and potentially relevant mechanisms of action. Rosemary extract has been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anticancer properties. Rosemary extract contains many polyphenols with carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid found in highest concentrations. The present review summarizes the existing in vitro and in vivo studies focusing on the anticancer effects of rosemary extract and the rosemary extract polyphenols carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, and their effects on key signaling molecules.

Highlights

The most fundamental traits of cancer cells are their enhanced proliferative and decreased apoptotic capacities [1]
It should be noted that the levels of polyphenols and bioactive compounds present in Rosemary Extract (RE) may be affected by many factors such as the plant growing conditions
Methanol, ethanol and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction are methods which have been used in different studies and evidence suggests that methanol extraction may lead to RE with higher potency [31]

Summary

Introduction

The most fundamental traits of cancer cells are their enhanced proliferative and decreased apoptotic capacities [1]. To explore the chemopreventive potential of anticancer agents, cells in culture or animal models can be exposed to an anticancer agent before being exposed to a carcinogen This provides evidence of the effect of an anticancer agent on the initiation and promotion stages of cancer. Cells in culture or animal models may be exposed to a carcinogen to establish a neoplastic state prior to being treated with an anticancer agent and this provides evidence of the effect of an anticancer agent on the progression of cancer. RE induced cell cycle arrest, necrosis, cholesterol accumulation and ROS accumulation [24,25,26] These studies provide evidence for the role of RE as an anticancer agent in colon cancer cells, capable of consistently inhibiting cell growth and viability at relatively low concentrations in the 20–100 μg/mL range

RE’s standardized to

REs standardized to

10. Dosage and Bioavailability

11. Conclusions