Compound found in common herbs inspires potential anti-inflammatory drug for Alzheimer's disease Scripps Research scientists created a stable form of carnosic acid, observing greater memory function and other disease improvements in mice.
March 10, 2025
LA JOLLA, CA The herb rosemary has long been linked with memory: There's rosemary, that's for remembrance, says Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. So it is fitting that researchers would study a compound found in rosemary and sage carnosic acid for its impact on Alzheimer's disease. In the disease, which is the leading cause of dementia and the sixth leading cause of death in the US, inflammation is one component that often leads to cognitive decline.
Carnosic acid is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound that works by activating enzymes that make up the body's natural defense system. While pure carnosic acid is too unstable to be used as a drug, scientists at Scripps Research have now synthesized a stable form, diAcCA. This compound is fully converted to carnosic acid in the gut before being absorbed into the bloodstream.
The research, published in Antioxidants on February 28, 2025, showed that when diAcCA was used to treat mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, it achieved therapeutic doses of carnosic acid in the brain and led to enhanced memory and synaptic density, or more synapses (representing the connections between nerve cells), in the brain. Because the decline of neuronal synapses is also closely correlated to dementia in Alzheimer's disease, this approach could counteract the progression of cognitive decline.
Analysis of tissue samples showed the drug also markedly decreased inflammation in the brain. This unique drug is activated by the very inflammation that it then combats and thus is only active in areas of the brain undergoing inflammatory damage. This selectivity limits the potential side effects of carnosic acid, which is on the US Food and Drug Administration's generally regarded as safe (GRAS) list, easing the way for clinical trials.
By combating inflammation and oxidative stress with this diAcCA compound, we actually increased the number of synapses in the brain, says senior author and professor Stuart Lipton, MD, PhD, the Step Family Foundation Endowed Chair at Scripps Research and a clinical neurologist in La Jolla, California. We also took down other misfolded or aggregated proteins such as phosphorylated-tau and amyloid- , which are thought to trigger Alzheimer's disease and serve as biomarkers of the disease process.
Lipton's group had previously determined that carnosic acid crosses the blood-brain barrier and activates the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway, which turns on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes. But the compound oxidizes easily, making it unsuitable as a drug because of its short shelf-life.
In this new study, Lipton and co-author Phil Baran, PhD, the Dr. Richard A. Lerner Endowed Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research, synthesized a range of carnosic acid derivatives and selected diAcCA as the best candidate because of its stability, bioavailability, and other drug-like properties. Lipton's group then treated mouse models with the compound over the course of three months. The group examined the mice by testing their spatial learning and memory in behavioral tests and then analyzing brain tissue under the microscope.
We did multiple different tests of memory, and they were all improved with the drug, Lipton says. And it didn't just slow down the decline; it improved virtually back to normal. Analysis of tissues also showed increased neuronal synaptic density and decreased formation of phosphorylated-tau aggregates and amyloid- plaques.
The mice tolerated diAcCA well. In toxicity studies, the compound even soothed baseline inflammation in the esophagus and stomach as it was converted to carnosic acid.
The group also found that the mice took up about 20% more carnosic acid after ingesting diAcCA than they did after taking plain carnosic acid. Because most carnosic acid oxidizes while being stored or upon ingestion, diAcCA produces more carnosic acid in the blood than if you took carnosic acid itself, Lipton explains.
Lipton sees a potential for diAcCA to work in tandem with Alzheimer's treatments currently on the market. Not only could the drug work on its own by combating inflammation, but it could make existing amyloid antibody treatments work better by taking away or limiting their side effects such as a form of brain swelling or bleeding known as ARIA-E and ARIA-H, he says.
Lipton hopes diAcCA can be fast-tracked through clinical trials because of its safety profile. He thinks it could also be explored as a treatment for other disorders marked by inflammation, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other forms of neurodegeneration such as Parkinson's disease.
In addition to Lipton and Baran, authors of the study diAcCA, a Pro-Drug for Carnosic Acid That Activates the Nrf2 Transcriptional Pathway, Shows Efficacy in the 5xFAD Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease include Piu Banerjee, Yubo Wang, Lauren N. Carnevale, Parth Patel, Charlene K Raspur, Nancy Tran, Xu Zhang, and Amanda J. Roberts of Scripps Research and Ravi Natarajan of Socrates Biosciences.
This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (U01 AG088679, R01 AG056259, R35 AG071734, RF1 AG057409, R01 AG056259, R56 AG065372, R01 DA048882, DP1 DA041722 and S10 OD030332).
Neuroscience Lipton, Stuart
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
08/07/2026
Latest analogue-emulation plug-ins revealed
Universal Audio have just added two new analogue-emulation plug-ins to their DSP-powered UAD line-up. Developed ...
08/07/2026
Turn any audio loop into a playable kit
Pitch Innovations have recently introduced an interesting new tool that's capable of creating playable kits from...
08/07/2026
Adds new keyboard-split function
MonkeyC have recently launched an update that overhauls their powerful software sampler. Described as the sampler that mad...
08/07/2026
Four new delay algorithms & dual-engine functionality
Strymon have just announced that the much-anticipated MX version of their hugely popular delay pedal i...
08/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and China Mobile Research Institute jointly demonstrate generati...
08/07/2026
Film follows the courageous fight for justice by survivors of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries & Mother and Baby Homes
TESTIMONY airs Wednesday 22 July at 9...
07/07/2026
Applications are now open for the Validation Booster, a six-month acceleration programme supporting journalists, media organisations, content creators, media in...
07/07/2026
New mixer aimed squarely at instrument-level sources
Heritage Audio have clearly been busy recently, as alongside their all-new Tubestrip, they've also ...
07/07/2026
New channel strip combines popular hardware designs
The latest arrival to the Heritage Audio line-up brings together a selection of their praised hardware d...
07/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/07/2026
UKTV commission with BritBox and Sony Pictures Television and inspired by Deborah Cadbury's book, Chocolate Wars
The six-part series is produced by Fable P...
07/07/2026
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Record audiences tune into the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 on Sky Sports
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 was the most watche...
07/07/2026
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Official trailer released for Fightland, a revenge drama fr...
07/07/2026
Wuppertal July 7, 2026
Riedel and ARRI Bring Cinematic Live Production to the Eurovision Song ContestRiedel Communications and ARRI played a key role in one o...
07/07/2026
To Whom It Concerns RT today confirmed that Patrick Kielty is to extend his contract as host of The Late Late Show.
Last season, the world's longest-runn...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky Kids unveils new slate for 2026 including Paris Hilton&#...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR THE CALAMITY Continues I...
04/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Unveils New Anime Slate at Anime Expo 2026 with ...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Celebrates Anime Expo 2026 with BLACK TORCH Worl...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Thursday 2 July 2026
Tea with Judi Dench returns to Sky Arts with legendary guest, Sir Ian McKellen
Sky today confirms Tea with Judi Dench will return this su...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
Matt started engineering and mixing in studios. Twelve years later, a good friend, front of house engineer Shane Haase, took him out on tour as system engineer ...
01/07/2026
Our SD10T was an absolutely rock-solid, stable console and the Quantum 338T has been the perfect upgrade, Hurley says. Having multiple screens is a big advant...
01/07/2026
LEXINGTON, Kentucky - July 2026 -Tyler Childers' seventh and latest studio record, Snipe Hunter, is an adventurously sprawling collection of tunes that span...
01/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
BLEACH Comes to Life in Los Angeles with First-of-Its-Kind...
Compound found in common herbs inspires potential anti-inflammatory drug for Alzheimer's disease Scripps Research scientists created a stable form of carnosic acid, observing greater memory function and other disease improvements in mice. 
