An overview of the chemistry and anticancer properties of rosemary extract and its diterpenes

Abstract

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae, has promising anticancer activity. This overview has updated the current knowledge on the chemistry and anticancer properties of rosemary extract, carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmanol, focusing on colon and prostate cancer cells since they are the most susceptible. The information was procured from Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, Science Direct, J-Stage, and PubChem. Phenolic compounds isolated from the aerial parts of R. officinalis are flavonoids, phenolic acids, diterpenes, triterpenes, terpenoids, and phenylpropanoids. Some of the compounds are new to science, to the genus, and to the species. Almost 30 compounds possess anticancer properties. Rosemary extracts contain abietane diterpenes, with carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmanol being the most common. Their molecular structures are similar to three fused aromatic rings. Carnosic acid has a –COOH group at C20, carnosol has a lactone ring occurs across the B ring, and rosmanol has a –OH group at C7. Against colon and prostate cancer cells, the rosemary extract and diterpenes inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. The inhibition of cell migration and adhesion has also been reported. The rosemary extract and diterpenes also inhibited colon and prostate cancer xenograft in mice. Rosemary extract is more cytotoxic than the diterpenes due to its polyphenols such as flavonoids and triterpenes. In vitro and in vivo cytotoxic activities involve different molecular targets and signalling pathways. Some prospects and areas for future research are suggested.

Production of secondary metabolites using tissue culture-based biotechnological applications

“…They are widely found in nature and are defined as compounds having various pharmacological activities ( Kemboi et al., 2021 ). For example, it has been reported by various researchers that diterpenes obtained from the plants belonging to the genus Taxus are used in the treatment of prostate, ovarian, lung, and breast cancer ( Chen et al., 2021 ; Acquaviva et al., 2022 ; Tomiotto-Pellissier et al., 2022 ).…”

“…In addition to carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen groups, they also contain groups including oxygen, sulphur, and albeit very little, bromine, chlorine, and phosphorus. Compounds such as amino acids, proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, and amines are generally not called alkaloids ( Nicolaou and Chen, 2011 ; Chen et al., 2021 ). Alkaloids with complex and diverse structures can be classified most commonly and correctly based on their C-N skeleton profiles.…”

Carnosic Acid and Carnosol: Analytical Methods for Their Determination in Plants, Foods and Biological Samples

“…The anticancer activity of rosemary extracts and their major bioactive constituents were widely studied in the last decades [101][102][103][104][105][106]. Numerous studies employing in vitro assays regarding different types of cancer, such as leukemia, breast, lung, liver, brain, prostate and colon cancer were conducted.…”

Extraction Optimization and Qualitative/Quantitative Determination of Bioactive Abietane-Type Diterpenes from Three Salvia Species (Common Sage, Greek Sage and Rosemary) by 1H-qNMR

“…The fresh or dried leaves of these globally recognized plants are commonly utilized as culinary spices, in traditional medicine, phytotherapy and even as food preservatives. Moreover, these plants are also accepted in conventional medicine according to the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as the European Medicines Agency (EMA), due to their pharmacological properties towards the relief of symptoms of different diseases based on their long traditional uses and confirmed therapeutic effects [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”