To determine the antioxidant mechanism of food phenolics against the oxidation of food components, the reaction of carnosic acid, an antioxidative constituent of the popular herbs sage and rosemary, was investigated in the presence of ethyl linoleate and the radical oxidation initiator 2,2'-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile). During this process, carnosic acid was oxidized to an o-quinone and a hydroxy p-quinone, the chemical structures of which were confirmed by physical and chemical techniques. From a quantitative time course analysis of the production of these quinones, an antioxidant mechanism of carnosic acid is proposed, consisting of the oxidative coupling reaction with the peroxyl radical at the 12- or 14-position of carnosic acid and subsequent degradation reactions.