Rosemary:

§      Warning: Health Precaution – Rosemary may cause autoimmune diseases. In culinary or therapeutic doses is generally safe, however precaution is necessary for those displaying allergic reaction, or those prone to epileptic seizure. Rosemary oil is potentially toxic if ingested; if the leaves are taken in large quantities it may cause adverse reactions, such as coma, spasm, vomiting and pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) that can be fatal.

Botanical name: Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Wikipedia.org; Rosemary (Hyssopus officinalis LINN.) A Modern Herbal

∞      Chinese Botanical name:

∞      This information clearly states that Rosemary does have benefit.

 —Description— tonic, astringent, diaphoretic, stimulant, hair-products (renewed activity and preventing premature baldness, hair wash with borax when cold), Scurf, dandruff, rubefacient, paralyzed limbs, stomachic, nervine, headache, Cordial (weak heart subject to palpitation), dropsy, stimulating kidneys, colic, colds, nervous diseases, nervous depression, antispasmodic.

—Synonyms—Polar Plant, Compass-weed, Compass Plant, Rosmarinus coronarium, (Old French) Incensier.

—Constituents— Rosemary contains some tannic acid, together with a resin and a bitter principle and a volatile oil.

—Medicinal Action and Uses— Rosemary is used as Hungary water to ‘renovate vitality of paralyzed limbs'.  It was used externally and prepared by mixing 180g of fresh rosemary tops in full flower into a liter of spirits of wine.  It also works against gout if rubbed vigorously on hands and feet. Rosemary also improves memory.

As a tonic, astringent, diaphoretic, or stimulant; the oil of rosemary has the carminative properties of volatile oils and is an excellent stomachic and nervine, curing many kinds of headaches.

Spiritus Rosmarini, externally is used in hair—lotions, for effect in stimulating the hair—bulbs to renew activity and preventing premature baldness. An effectual remedy of preventing scurf and dandruff would be to infuse dried plant (both leaves and flowers) and combine with borax and used when cold, this makes one of the best hair washes known.

Rosemary oil is also used externally as a rubefacient and is added to liniments as a stimulant. Hungary water was prepared for outward application to renovate the vitality of paralyzed limbs. This was done by rubbing it in vigorously, it also efficacious against gout.

Rosemary Wine when taken in small quantities acts as a quieting cordial to a weak heart subject to palpitation, and relieves accompanying dropsy by stimulating the kidney. Also Rosemary Wine stimulate the brain and nervous system, it is a good remedy for headaches caused by feeble circulation.

Rosemary tea is made by the young tops, leaves and flowers and sipping into an infusion, when taken warm, it is a good remedy for removing headache, colic, colds, and nervous diseases, be sure to take care not to let the steam to escape during its preparation.  It will also relieve nervous depression.  A conserve, made by beating up the freshly gathered tops with three times their weight of sugar it is said to have the same effect.

A spirit of Rosemary may be used, in doses of 30 drops in water or on sugar, as an antispasmodic.

When you combine Rosemary and Coltsfoot leaves together and smoke for asthma and other affections of the throat and lungs it is considered to be good.

Rosemary has Cancer preventive properties, in several studies done in the last several years show that the oil from the leaves can help prevent the development of cancerous tumors in laboratory animals. One study, led by Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, showed that applying rosemary oil to the skin of experimental animals reduced their risk of cancer to half that found in animals that did not receive the application of oil. In other studies by the same research team, animals whose diets contained some rosemary oil had about half the incidence of colon cancer or lung cancer compared with animal's not eating rosemary. And researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana found that rosemary cut by half the incidence of breast cancer in animals at high risk for developing the disease.

Rosemary helps to relax muscles, including the smooth muscles of the digestive tract and uterus.  Because of this property it can be used to soothe digestive upsets and relieve menstrual cramps.

—Parts Used—Herb, root.

  —References—

1.         “Herbal Medicine – The Natural way to Get Well and Stay Well” by – Dian Dincin Buchman, PhD – Copyright 1979, 1996 – ISBN: 0-517-14767-x – Page 68-72, 144, 177, 185, 194, 195-196, 201, 243, 252, 274-275, 285-286;

2.        A Modern Herbal Rosemary

3.        Wikipedia.org Rosemary

4.        Garden Guides Rosemary

5.        “The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods” by Michael Murray N.D.  Copyright 2005; page 504 – 506 Rosemary.

Ø  Recipe:Generated on June 4th, 2007

Updated on July 17th, 2007