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ABSTRACT
Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural polyphenolic antioxidant derived from many common herbal plants. This compound displays several important biological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antidepressant, anticarcionogenic, and chemopreventive properties. The importance of its activities and its possible application in processed foods as a natural antioxidant has reached a new interest levels in recent years. The health effects of this polyphenol depend greatly on both its intakes and bioavailability. This review focuses on the importance of RA as a dietary supplement, and summarizes its pharmacokinetics and metabolism, including the factors that limit its oral bioavailability which leads to a lower therapeutic action. Further experimental investigations are needed to optimize and enhance the oral bioavailability of this natural compound which consequently will help increasing therapeutic efficacy of RA in vivo.
Funding
Partial funding for this research work was provided via project NANODAIRY (PTDC/AGR-ALI/117808/2010) and project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0016/2013, financed by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal). Authors also thank FCT for funding SFRH/BPD/71391/2010 (Ana Raquel Madureira post-doctoral scholarship), SFRH/BD/109017/2015 (Sara Nunes PhD scholarship) and UID/NEU/04539/2013 (CNC.IBILI Consortium), as well as FEDER-COMPETE (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028417 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440).
Conflict of interest
The authors have declared no conflict of interest.