Aroma of Rosemary Oil Improves Memory in Healthy Adults: Study

A latest finding from researchers at the Northumbria University states that the aroma of rosemary essential oil boosts memory in healthy adults, according to a news release.

The study, conducted by Jemma McCready and Dr. Mark Moss, suggests that the oil may improve the ability to remember events. They wanted to base their study on their previous findings, which linked rosemary aroma with improved long-term memory and mental arithmetic.

"In this study we focused on prospective memory, which involves the ability to remember events that will occur in the future and to remember to complete tasks at particular times this is critical for everyday functioning," Dr. Mark Moss, Head of Psychology, said in a press statement.

The study was done on 66 people. The researchers diffused rosemary essential oil into the testing room by placing a few drops on the aroma stream fan diffuser and switching on the fan for five minutes before the arrival of the participants. The participants were either allocated to the room that had rosemary or a room without the scent.

In each room, the participants were asked to complete a test that assessed their memory functions. It had certain tasks such as finding the objects hidden by the researchers at the end of the test, and passing some object to the researcher at a specific time. No assistance was provided during the task. If the participants had any difficulty doing the task, they were given different degrees of prompting. Their score decreased with the increase in prompting.

The researchers analyzed blood samples of the participants to check if the performance level and change in mood after being exposed to rosemary were linked with concentrations of compound 1,8-cineole present in the blood.

The researchers noticed that those who were being exposed to the rosemary scented room performed better in memory tasks when compared to those who were in the room that had no scent.

From the blood analysis it was seen that a large amount of 1,8-cineole was present in the plasma of those in the rosemary scented room, indicating the influence of aroma.

However, they found no association between the participant's mood and memory. This study offers suggestions to treat individuals with memory impairment.