Carnosol: A Phenolic Diterpene With Cancer Chemopreventive Potential

Abstract

Cancer is an unbeaten health challenge for the humankind. After striving for decades to find a cancer cure, attention has now been shifted to reduce the morbidity and mortality from cancer by halting the course of tumor development. Numerous bioactive phytochemicals, especially those present in edible and non-edible plant species, have been reported to reduce the risk of many cancers. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that carnosol, a phenolic diterpene present in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), holds the promise of preventing certain types of cancer. A remarkable progress has been made in delineating the biochemical mechanisms underlying the chemopreventive effects of carnosol. Results from in vitro cell culture studies as well as animal model experiments have revealed that carnosol inhibits experimentally induced carcinogenesis and exhibits potent anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and apoptosis inducing properties. Moreover, carnosol enhances the sensitivity of chemoresistant cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. The purpose of this review is to shed light on the detailed mechanistic aspects of cancer chemoprevention with carnosol.

The effect of rosemary herb as a dietary supplement on performance, egg quality, serum biochemical parameters, and oxidative status in laying hens

“…Rosemary is a rich source of beneficial phenolic compounds, carnosol, carnosic and rosmarinic acids, and related effective compounds having strong antioxidant, anti-cancer and antiinflammatory activities (Chun et al, 2014;Rocío-Teruel et al, 2015). Herbal additives may act by more than one mechanism, affecting feed intake and conversion, stimulating the secretion of digestive enzymes and gastrointestinal motility, as well as immune and endocrine functions in addition to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti- …”

“…Studies have described various biological impacts and protective effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), including antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, immunomodulatory and health-promoting activities (FlorouPaneri et al, 2006;Chun et al, 2014).…”

Comparative Study of Green Sub- and Supercritical Processes to Obtain Carnosic Acid and Carnosol-Enriched Rosemary Extracts with in Vitro Anti-Proliferative Activity on Colon Cancer Cells

“…Rosemary-leaf extracts ( Rosmarinus officinalis L.) have received special attention since European Food Safety Authority and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved their use as food additive, demonstrating to be safe for human health at specific compositions [27,28]. Several rosemary compounds, principally carnosol (CS) [29,30,31,32], carnosic acid (CA) [33,34,35], and ursolic acid [36,37,38], have demonstrated different anticancer activities, such as anti-proliferative, antiinvasive, and antitumorigenic effects, in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, although several of the observed anti-proliferative effects of rosemary extracts have been commonly attributed to some of these components, in many cases the effect of the complete extract is higher than that exerted by the individual compounds [20,21,30,33,39,40].…”

Callicarpa longissima extract, carnosol-rich, potently inhibits melanogenesis in B16F10 melanoma cells

“…Rosemary is rich in carnosol and carnosic acid, and is used for a variety of purposes [17], including in foods [38]. By evaluating anti-melanogenic activity, we found that the ethanol extract of C. longissima leaf was also rich in these substances and strongly inhibited MITF gene expression.…”