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Rosemary scent perks up brain power

LONDON - Exposure to higher levels of rosemary scent seems to perk up brain power, tests show.

Mark Moss and Lorraine Oliver, from the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre at Northumbria University, tested cognitive performance and mood in a group of subjects, exposed to Rosemary’s aroma, especially 1,8-cineole, one of its main chemical components.

Using blood samples to detect the amount of 1,8-cineole participants had absorbed, researchers applied speed and accuracy tests, and mood assessments, to judge the rosemary oil’s affects, the journal of Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology reports.

Results indicate that concentration of 1,8-cineole in the blood is related to an individual’s cognitive performance - with higher concentrations resulting in improved performance, according to a Northumbria statement.

‘Only contentedness possessed a significant relationship with 1,8-cineole levels, and interestingly to some of the cognitive performance outcomes, leading to the intriguing proposal that positive mood can improve performance whereas aroused mood cannot,’ said Moss.

Typically comprising 35-45 percent by volume of rosemary essential oil, 1,8-cineole may possess direct pharmacological properties.

Rosemary is used as a decorative plant in gardens and has many culinary and medical uses. The plant is said to improve the memory and is used as a symbol of remembrance, especially in Australia and New Zealand to commemorate ANZAC Day.