National R & D Center for Edible Fungus Processing Technology, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Joint International Research Laboratory of Food & Medicine Resource Function, Henan Province, Kaifeng 475004, China
Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick 08901, USA
College of Agriculture, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Show Author Information
Hide Author Information
Highlights
(1) This review summarizes the diterpenes found in Rosmarinus officinalis and their corresponding activities, as well as describing the mechanisms underlying these activities.
(2) It is found that 40 out of 62 diterpenoids in Rosmarinus officinalis have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and neuroprotective effects.
(3) This review consolidates the structure-activity relationships of Rosmarinus officinalis diterpenes and provides insights into the prospective applications of these bioactive diterpenes.
(4) This review offers a comprehensive summary of the activities and mechanisms of action for both carnosic acid and carnosol.
Abstract
Rosmarinus officinalis contains diterpene phenols and diterpene quinones, such as carnosic acid and carnosol, exhibiting a wide range of biological activities. This paper reviews the latest papers about the diterpenoid compounds isolated from R. officinalis, and summaries the activities and mechanisms of them. It is found that 40 out of 62 diterpenoids in R. officinalis have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and neuroprotective effects. For them, the anti-oxidant involves the signaling pathway of Nrf2-HO-1/NQO-1, while the anti-inflammatory involves NF-κB, MAPK and Nrf2, the anti-tumor mechanisms involves Bcl-2, Akt/IKK/NF-κB and ATG, the neuroprotection involves PINK1/parkin and SIRT1/p66shc pathways. This will benefit to the full utilization of R. officinalis in the human health protection.
Graphical Abstract
This review sums up the latest papers about the diterpenoid compounds isolated from R. officinalis, and summaries the activities and mechanisms of them. It is found that 40 out of 62 diterpenoids in R. officinalis have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and neuroprotective effects and so on. Among them, the R. officinalis diterpenes represented by carnosic acid and carnosol are widely used in food, cosmetics and health. In the realm of food and cosmetics, carnosic acid and carnosol can exert anti-oxidant effects to prevent lipid oxidation and combat skin aging. In the realm of health, carnosic acid and carnosol exert their therapeutic effects on conditions like obesity, liver injury, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, colon cancer, lung cancer, and inflammation by virtue of their lipid-lowering, anti-tumor, liver protection, neuroprotection, and anti-inflammatory.
Liang H-Y, Guan M, Li T-H, et al. Critical review on biological effect and mechanisms of diterpenoids in Rosmarinus officinalis. Food & Medicine Homology, 2025, 2(3): 9420021. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2025.9420021
{{item.fileName}}
京公网安备11010802044758号
Comments on this article