By Eulalee Thompson WHEN IT comes to the medicinal use of local herbs, the folk culture is usually a step or two ahead of the research scientists.
It's no different with the use of the pleasantly aromatic herb, Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). The folk not only use it to preserve food (especially meat) but to treat a range of ailments including constipation, asthma, fever, headache and as a great 'pick-me-up' when energy levels are a bit low. Now, scientists at the Scientific Research Council (SRC) are not only trying to isolate the herb's active ingredients but to transform the isolate into commercially-viable products. The SRC is formulating, for example an anti-wrinkle cream, insect repellent and extracting the oil from Rosemary.
"We are basically looking at 'the active' in Rosemary, that is, the biologically-active compound. We are trying to assess the quantity of the active in Rosemary grown in Jamaica," said Sheridan Hibbert, research scientist at the SRC's Natural Products Unit.
He already knows, based on the scientific literature, that the compounds carnosol and carnosic acid have already been identified internationally as responsible for rosemary's aggressive antioxidant properties. These polyphenolic compounds, vary in chemical structure, properties and characteristics. As a scientist, Mr. Hibbert would like to ascertain whether the locally-grown Rosemary contains the same 'active' as other rosemary grown in other countries and he wants to quantify the active.
ANTI-WRINKLE CREAM
The scientist also wants to compare the quality of rosemary oil from the locally-grown herb with that of major Rosemary oil producers such as Tunisia and Morocco.
"We don't really grow a lot of rosemary in Jamaica when compared to other countries but...if the results are fruitful then we could go into that area not only for the local market but for export," Mr. Hibbert said.
At the end of these preliminary laboratory studies and further studies, the SRC's intention is to take the research out of the confines of the laboratory and transform the results into the development of a marketable product an anti-wrinkle cream with rosemary extract as a major component. The formulation for the anti-wrinkle cream is almost complete but the product is still in the development phase having not yet gone through the rigours of clinical trials.
Why an anti-wrinkle cream? The theory is that rosemary's well-known antioxidant properties, which has been put to good use as a natural preservative in meat, can prove equally useful in carrying out free radical mop-up activities on the skin.
But the commercialisation of the herb would not stop there as Mr. Hibbert said that other products such as supplements, perhaps combined with medication, can be produced to counteract the progress of degenerative diseases those so-called lifestyle diseases which have become the plague of modern living. The Rosemary oil has already been extracted in SRC laboratory and the 'rosemary' insect repellent has been formulated but not yet tested.
NEUTRACEUTICAL MARKET
The laboratory studies being conducted on Rosemary are part of the SRC's strategic focus to develop a local neutraceutical market with lucrative export potential. Other herbs ginger, tumeric, fever grass and sorrel are also being researched for their neutraceutical value. High antioxidant properties have also been identified in other local plants such as leaf of life, vervine, coralita, susumber and ackee.
Neutraceuticals or functional foods, that is, food with ingredients that provide more than mere nutrition but medical or health benefits, is a fairly new scientific concept. However, the growing market in neutraceutical foods was a US$57 billion market in 2002 and is projected to expand further to US$200 billion by next year.
Do you use Rosemary? Send your comments to eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.
