ROSEMARY FOR REMEMBRANCE
Meanwhile, English folkloric advice that rosemary enhances memory (slipped in the pocket of an errant lover, the herb is said to help them remember their vows of fidelity; Shakespeare’s Ophelia spoke of rosemary “for remembrance” in Hamlet )has received scientific endorsement.
A 2016 study by the University of Northumbria found that a sample group of 150 pensioners sitting in a room diffused with the scent of rosemary enjoyed enhanced memory, with test scores boosted by 15 per cent. A separate experiment by the same research team found that peppermint
may also help to boost memory. Peppermint was noted as enhancing both long-term and working (short-term) memory as well as alertness.
In the same year, a four-year study of 300 pensioners living in Acciaroli, a southern Italian fishing village near Salerno, was begun. The ‘Mediterranean diet’ (including rosemary and other herbs, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, and olive oil) has long been regarded as a healthy one, with cardiac and other benefits. Acciaroli is renowned for its long-lived citizens, and rosemary is one ingredient known to have positive metabolic effects on longevity.
The long-term study by researchers from Rome’s Sapienza University and UCLA was hoped to shed new light on this. Around 50 researchers, medical experts, geneticists and local doctors took blood samples, disseminated questionnaires, and carried out interviews in order to conduct a full genetic analysis and examine diet and lifestyle.
An unusual number of Acciaroli’s 2,000 citizens are over
100 years old. There is also a remarkably low incidence of Alzheimer’s or heart disease. Preliminary investigations suggest exercise may be a factor: many of the oldest villagers worked in nearby fields for decades, and still regularly walk or ride bicycles. Prof Salvatore Di Somma of Sapienza University (and leader of the joint Italian-US research project) said of Acciaroli’s centenarians: “Not only do they live long, they also live well.” D.Telegraph, 31 Mar, 27 April 2016.