Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.Lamiaceae // leaf · flowering tops · essential oil
Overview
Plant parts
leaf, flowering tops, essential oil
Known constituents
rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, 1,8-cineole
Research corpus coverage
Chemistry notes
- CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include rosmarinic acid; carnosic acid; 1,8-cineole; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.
Uses & Evidence
Traditional / historical use
Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.
TRADITIONAL: Rosemary has been used for dyspepsia; muscle/joint pain; memory; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Modern evidence
EVIDENCE: For the major use set (dyspepsia; muscle/joint pain; memory), the evidence assessment is limited/mixed: Traditional-use support; limited small human studies for cognition and topical pain.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph and mixed scientific literature · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Mixed findings, product heterogeneity, or indirect evidence are preserved in the detailed profile.
Preparation
Forms used traditionally
A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.
PREPARATION: The medicinal material is leaf; flowering tops; essential oil; traditional and modern forms include infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract, diluted topical essential-oil preparation, inhalation/aromatic preparation. No dose or potency is specified.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Preparation-specific evidence should not be generalized across extracts, teas, oils, or whole herb.
Safety
Cats & dogs
- High risk
Rosemary oil is listed among essential oils associated with products that can be toxic in dogs and/or cats; the page does not provide oil-specific species, route, dose, or sign attribution.
Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · Essential oil, including as a component of herbal flea or tick treatments · MODERATE · veterinary_manual · essential, herbal, oil poisoning canine feline - Consultant
Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)
Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.
SAFETY: Major issues include Concentrated oil may provoke seizures; contact allergy. Contraindications/cautions include Seizure disorder caution with essential oil.
HIGH · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include Potential additive anticoagulant, diuretic and glucose-lowering effects.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.
SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Avoid concentrated medicinal/essential-oil use in pregnancy; food use differs.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.
Rosemary oil is listed among essential oils associated with products that can be toxic in dogs and/or cats; the page does not provide oil-specific species, route, dose, or sign attribution.
MODERATE · veterinary_manual · essential, herbal, oil poisoning canine feline - Consultant
The page names rosemary oil but does not attribute the listed signs specifically to it or distinguish cats from dogs.
Preparation × species risk matrix
Unknown means insufficient evidence was located — not that a form is safe.
Cats
- essential oilHigh risk
- tinctureCaution
- concentrated extractUnknown
- glyceriteUnknown
- infused oilUnknown
- salveUnknown
- smoke/combustionUnknown
- tea/infusionUnknown
- whole herbUnknown
Dogs
- essential oilHigh risk
- tinctureCaution
- concentrated extractUnknown
- glyceriteUnknown
- infused oilUnknown
- salveUnknown
- smoke/combustionUnknown
- tea/infusionUnknown
- whole herbUnknown
Identity
- Synonym
GBIF resolves Rosmarinus officinalis L. as a synonym of Salvia rosmarinus. The older name still appears in herbal and taxonomic literature.
MODERATE · GBIF Species Match API
Botanical synonym
Rosmarinus officinalis L. (recently reclassified)
Taxonomic identity note
- Rosemary is treated here as Salvia rosmarinus Spenn. in the family Lamiaceae; recorded older names include Rosmarinus officinalis L. (recently reclassified).
Sources
Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.
EMA monograph
veterinary_manual
- Plants of the World Online1 claim
botanical taxonomy database
WHO monograph
- GBIF Species Match API1 claim
authoritative taxonomic database