6 ms·

Rosemary tea consumption results in anti-depressant-like behavior in mice

32 points by romefort 11y ago

Renaud 11y ago
I can guess the headlines in the next few days: 'Rosemary tea cures depression'.
- pluma 11y ago
  BRB writing a future New York Times bestseller.
- j42 11y ago
  Study: "anti-depressant effects observed in mice treated with rosemary extract..." Press release: "rosemary extract discovered to be an effective anti-depressant." Media release: "how a simple cup of tea could permanently cure your depression." Social media (et al.): "feeling depressed? try this simple, secret tea Starbucks doesn't want you to know about that cures depression, boosts your IQ and prevents cancer!" Cynicism aside, in an attempt to add something useful, there does seem to be some correlation between recall rate (memory) and rosemary extract, at least in certain disease states, with a parabolic dose curve (low = beneficial, high = detrimental). There has been some chatter as to the specific MOA, however I think the presence of carnosic acid (a terpene present in rosemary) may be relevant--it seems to have PDE-inhibitory properties as well as a correlation with changes in cAMP/gAMP transduction. Any effect is probably minor, however it's nonetheless intriguing. And if you care about the anecdotal/unproven cognitive benefits (ie, quite possibly placebo), many users online have reported benefits with PDE 4/5 inhibition (luteolin, artichoke extract ideally) combined with Forskolin (which you should always be careful about and know the source of because improper/unregulated extracts could be quite toxic). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4139869/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4139869/
  - j42 11y ago
    Adding this study as a brief follow-up to anyone interested in Coleus Forskohlii looking for a source on contaminants; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22729658 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22729658 Long story short, the study (6 refs) found dose-related hepatoxicity in mice, and also concluded Forskohlii's main mechanism of action was not directly responsible for the decreased function. While not conclusive, it suggests to me that the industry surrounding it allows for a lot of "anonymous" stock to be packaged and sold (meaning, no heavy metal or contaminant controls). Being an African plant potentially harvested w/o controls, and with supplement vendors looking for optimal prices, the incentives aren't tipped in the favor of transparency; an example of this actually happening was with Eurycoma Longfolia (tongkat ali) harvested from Malaysia that contained varying and dangerous levels of heavy metals. The context was similar.
gabemart 11y ago
I would suggest adding "in mice" to the title.
- spiritplumber 11y ago
  Man, mice have it good. They get their cancer cured, their lifespan extended... all years ahead of us. Maybe the Hitchhiker's Guide was right!
  - omegant 11y ago
    Maybe mice let us evolve millions of years ago, so we can take care of their issues.
- davidshepherd7 11y ago
  I was skimming the abstract and got as far as "forced swimming" before I realised that the test subjects were not human.
- dang 11y ago
  Ok, done.
theking565 11y ago
how do you get a mice depressed?
- draugadrotten 11y ago
  By moving their cheese.
mvanvoorden 11y ago
The anti-depressant (and other) properties of Rosemary are already known for many centuries and are recorded in the Ayurveda. Nice to see modern science coming to the same conclusion, although sad that many mice had to be made sick, get treated and then killed for something that scientists of ancient times had already discovered.
- unmole 11y ago
  > recorded in the Ayurveda Do you have any references for that? From what I can tell, rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region and it is unlikely it was known in ancient India.
  - gmaster1440 11y ago
    "Rosemary is the native of Mediterranean region and is cultivated in Europe and California in US. It is also grown in Algeria, China, Middle East, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, and to a limited extent in India." [1] [1] http://www.indianspices.com/html/s0625rosem.htm http://www.indianspices.com/html/s0625rosem.htm
  - mvanvoorden 11y ago
    Although it might be better to do a web search yourself and choose a source that seems trustworthy to you, I can provide you with this one for example: http://www.indianmirror.com/ayurveda/rosemary.html http://www.indianmirror.com/ayurveda/rosemary.html
kup0 11y ago
I am curious, could its inhibition of cholinesterase be dangerous, or is it minute enough not to matter?

32 points by romefort 11y ago

Renaud 11y ago

I can guess the headlines in the next few days: 'Rosemary tea cures depression'.

pluma 11y ago
BRB writing a future New York Times bestseller.
j42 11y ago
Study: "anti-depressant effects observed in mice treated with rosemary extract..." Press release: "rosemary extract discovered to be an effective anti-depressant." Media release: "how a simple cup of tea could permanently cure your depression." Social media (et al.): "feeling depressed? try this simple, secret tea Starbucks doesn't want you to know about that cures depression, boosts your IQ and prevents cancer!" Cynicism aside, in an attempt to add something useful, there does seem to be some correlation between recall rate (memory) and rosemary extract, at least in certain disease states, with a parabolic dose curve (low = beneficial, high = detrimental). There has been some chatter as to the specific MOA, however I think the presence of carnosic acid (a terpene present in rosemary) may be relevant--it seems to have PDE-inhibitory properties as well as a correlation with changes in cAMP/gAMP transduction. Any effect is probably minor, however it's nonetheless intriguing. And if you care about the anecdotal/unproven cognitive benefits (ie, quite possibly placebo), many users online have reported benefits with PDE 4/5 inhibition (luteolin, artichoke extract ideally) combined with Forskolin (which you should always be careful about and know the source of because improper/unregulated extracts could be quite toxic). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4139869/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4139869/
- j42 11y ago
  Adding this study as a brief follow-up to anyone interested in Coleus Forskohlii looking for a source on contaminants; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22729658 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22729658 Long story short, the study (6 refs) found dose-related hepatoxicity in mice, and also concluded Forskohlii's main mechanism of action was not directly responsible for the decreased function. While not conclusive, it suggests to me that the industry surrounding it allows for a lot of "anonymous" stock to be packaged and sold (meaning, no heavy metal or contaminant controls). Being an African plant potentially harvested w/o controls, and with supplement vendors looking for optimal prices, the incentives aren't tipped in the favor of transparency; an example of this actually happening was with Eurycoma Longfolia (tongkat ali) harvested from Malaysia that contained varying and dangerous levels of heavy metals. The context was similar.

gabemart 11y ago

I would suggest adding "in mice" to the title.

spiritplumber 11y ago
Man, mice have it good. They get their cancer cured, their lifespan extended... all years ahead of us. Maybe the Hitchhiker's Guide was right!
- omegant 11y ago
  Maybe mice let us evolve millions of years ago, so we can take care of their issues.
davidshepherd7 11y ago
I was skimming the abstract and got as far as "forced swimming" before I realised that the test subjects were not human.
dang 11y ago
Ok, done.

theking565 11y ago

how do you get a mice depressed?

draugadrotten 11y ago
By moving their cheese.

mvanvoorden 11y ago

The anti-depressant (and other) properties of Rosemary are already known for many centuries and are recorded in the Ayurveda. Nice to see modern science coming to the same conclusion, although sad that many mice had to be made sick, get treated and then killed for something that scientists of ancient times had already discovered.

unmole 11y ago
> recorded in the Ayurveda Do you have any references for that? From what I can tell, rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region and it is unlikely it was known in ancient India.
- gmaster1440 11y ago
  "Rosemary is the native of Mediterranean region and is cultivated in Europe and California in US. It is also grown in Algeria, China, Middle East, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, and to a limited extent in India." [1] [1] http://www.indianspices.com/html/s0625rosem.htm http://www.indianspices.com/html/s0625rosem.htm
- mvanvoorden 11y ago
  Although it might be better to do a web search yourself and choose a source that seems trustworthy to you, I can provide you with this one for example: http://www.indianmirror.com/ayurveda/rosemary.html http://www.indianmirror.com/ayurveda/rosemary.html

kup0 11y ago

I am curious, could its inhibition of cholinesterase be dangerous, or is it minute enough not to matter?