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Rosemary

Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.

Lamiaceae // leaf · flowering tops · essential oil

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Uses & evidence

Uses and evidence recorded
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Preparation

infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract, +2 more
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Safety

Safety cautions recorded
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Research

No linked research on file
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Overview

Plant parts

leaf, flowering tops, essential oil

Known constituents

rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, 1,8-cineole

Research corpus coverage

Materia medicaPet safety

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

infusion/teatincturepowder/capsuleextractdiluted topical essential-oil preparationinhalation/aromatic preparation

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.