Carnosic acid explained

Carnosic acid is a natural benzenediol abietane diterpene found in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and common sage (Salvia officinalis).^[1] Dried leaves of rosemary and sage contain 1.5 to 2.5% carnosic acid.

Carnosic acid and carnosol, a derivative of the acid, are used as antioxidant preservatives in food and nonfood products, where they're labelled as "extracts of rosemary" (E392).^[2]

Notes and References

1. Schwarz . Karin . Ternes . Waldemar . Antioxidative constituents of Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia officinalis . 10.1007/BF01201766 . 1529648 . Zeitschrift für Lebensmittel-Untersuchung und -Forschung . 1992 . 195 . 2 . 99–103. 100385294 .
2. Birtić . Simona . Dussort . Pierre . Pierre . François-Xavier . Bily . Antoine C. . Roller . Marc . 2015-07-01 . Carnosic acid . Phytochemistry . en . 115 . 9–19 . 10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.12.026 . 25639596 . 2015PChem.115....9B . 0031-9422. free .