Rosin, a natural resin obtained from conifer trees, has a long history of use in traditional folk medicine for treating abscesses, wounds, carbuncles, and burns, etc. It has been employed in ancient Egypt, China, Nordic countries, and Turkey as a therapeutic remedy. This comprehensive review examines the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of rosin, and it provides a critical update on current knowledge of rosin and identifies potential therapeutic opportunities. The chemical composition of rosin is known to vary depending on factors such as botanical sources, geographical locations, and processing methods. Rosin acids, which account for over 90% of its primary chemical constituents, have been identified as the predominant compounds in rosin. Researchers have isolated approximately 50 compounds from rosin, with terpenoid rosin acids being the most prevalent. Furthermore, the review highlights the potential pharmacological activities of rosin and its constituents. Crude extracts and isolated rosin acids have demonstrated promising properties, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, insecticidal, wound healing, and anti-obesity effects. However, the review emphasizes that further research is needed, as existing studies are predominantly preliminary. Many of the reported bioactivities require further verification, and the underlying mechanisms of action remain largely unexplored. In conclusion, rosin has been extensively used in traditional medicine across different cultures, and its chemical composition has been confirmed to a significant extent. The pharmacological activities observed in crude extracts and isolated rosin acids support its traditional uses. Nevertheless, additional research is necessary to deepen our understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms underlying its effects.

In recent decades, vegetable oils as a potential replacement for petrochemical materials have been extensively studied. Tall oil (crude tall oil, distilled tall oil, tall oil fatty acids, and rosin acids) is a good source to be turned into polymeric materials. Unlike vegetable oils, tall oil is considered as lignocellulosic plant biomass waste and is considered to be the second-generation raw material, thus it is not competing with the food and feed chain. The main purpose of this review article is to identify in what kind of polymeric materials wood biomass-based fatty acids and rosin acids have been applied and their impact on the properties.