Rosemary and Worms

Zamberlan, Amaral, Arantes, Machado, Mizdal, Campos, and Soares (2016) conducted a study to see if rosemary was connected to anti-aging.  They used Caenorhabditis elegans which is a non-parasitic nematode to model this as it seems to modulate aging and stress.  DAF-2 is an insulin receptor that is expressed with C. elegans and mutations have shown links to longevity because it increases the resistance to oxidative stress and heat for C. elegans.

The dose of 25 micrograms per mL was effective at increasing the life span of the worms in both the oxidative stress test and the heat-induced test. 

They also mutated some of the pathways in the worms and in these mutants, the rosemary oil was not successful.  They did succeed in extending the lifespan of the worms by 2 days through the DAF-2 pathway but not through the mutated pathways.  

The prevalent compounds found in the essential oil tested here were the flavonoids quercetin, rutin, and kaempferol and the phenolic acids chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, and carnosic acid.

While this study proves the extract protected the worms against heat and oxidative stress, it further points out the importance of the other pathways which help the body communicate to itself to modulate healing.  When those pathways were cut off due to the mutation, healing was not possible.  These pathways were HAF-1 (guides DAF-16, helps in the process to protect against heat shock), DAF-16/FOXO (development, stress resistance, heat tolerance, metabolism), and SKN-1/Nrf (regulates resistance to oxidative stress).

When these mutations were induced, the worms were more susceptible to oxidative stress.  This indicates these pathways are required for rosemary to protect against oxidative stress. 
 
Have a Great Day!
 
Zamberlan, D.C, Amaral, G.P., Arantes, L.P., Machado, M.L,. Mizdal, C.R., Campos, M.M.A., and Soares, F.A.A. (2016). Rosmarinus officinalis L. increases Caenorhabditis elegans stress resistance and longevity in a DAF-16, HSF-1 and SKN-1-dependent manner. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 49(9): e5235, doi:10.1590/1414-431X20165235