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Sage |
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Salvia officinalis
Sage is a perennial shrub native to southern Europe and Asia Minor. The plant is cultivated and collected from the wild in Yugoslavia, Albania, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Spain, Crete and the U.S.A. Although 500 species of Salvia and many varieties and chemotypes exist, only a few types of sage are commercially important. Dalmation sage, a type of Salvia officinalis, serves as the standard sage to which others are compared, as it is considered to possess the finest and most characteristic sage aroma. Sage is widely used, along with rosemary and thyme, to preserve a number of foods, including meats and cheeses. The dried leaves and essential oil of sage are employed as seasonings for sausages, ground meats, stuffings, fish, honey, salads, soups & stews. Sage is also used as a flavouring and antioxidant in cheeses, pickles, vegetables, processed foods, and beverages. The oil is used to extend the keeping quality of fats and meats. The plant is used in perfumes and cosmetics and as a natural insect repellent. Sage can be purchased as whole leaf, ground, rubbed, sliced, or cut. Sage has one of the longest histories of use as a medicinal herb. It has been employed to treat cancers and excessive perspiration and to dry up milk when a woman is no longer going to breast-feed. Based on this anti-perspiration and drying effect, sage is also used for women who are sweating due to menopausal hot flushes. The plant has been used as a folk remedy against colds, diarrhea, enteritis, venereal disease, excessive perspiration, snake bites, sore throats, toothaches, and cancer. The plant was thought to improve the memory. Sage has been reported to act as a bactericide and is used in mouthwashes and gargles. The plant is also used as a convulsant and antisecretory agent, and as Salvin, a preparation of leaves used as an antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory agent in treating oral cavity disease.
The odour and aromatic taste of sage are due to its volatile oil. Sage imparts its virtues to boiling water in infusion, but more readily to alcohol. The infusion becomes black on the addition of sulphate of iron, which is due to the presence of tannin. Oil of sage is obtained by distilling the leaves with water; the yield from Dalmatian leaves ranges from 1.3 to 2.5%. Oil of sage is a yellowish or greenish-yellow liquid, having the penetrating, characteristic odour of sage. The oil contains small amounts of pinene and cineol, but its chief constituent (50%) is thujone (formerly termed salviol), which also occurs in the oils of thuja, tansy, and wormwood.
Salvia has an antispasmodic action which reduces tension in smooth muscle, and it can be used in a steam inhalation for asthma attacks. It is an excellent remedy for helping to remove mucous congestion in the airways and for checking or preventing secondary infection. It may be taken as a carminative to reduce griping and other symptoms of indigestion, and is also of value in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea. It's bitter component stimulates upper digestive secretions, intestinal mobility, bile flow, and pancreatic function, while the volatile oil has a carminative and stimulating effect on the digestion. The thujone has a vermifuge action. There also seems to be a more general relaxant effect, so that the plant is suitable in the treatment of nervousness, excitability and dizziness. It helps to fortify a generally debilitated nervous system.
Sage is an aromatic, astringent, antidiarrheal, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, hemostat, laxative, panacea, sedative, spasmolytic, nervine, tonic and uterine stimulant. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, reduces perspiration, lactation, and blood sugar levels. The tincture can be used to reduce salivation in cases of Parkinson's disease or for indigestion and as a bitter to stimulate the liver and promote bile flow. It has been used in Europe for skin conditions, such as eczema, acne, dandruff and hair loss. It has been recognized for as benefits of strengthening the vital centres and metabolism. It may also help in relieving depression and mental fatigue. It is a top note and blends well with citrus oils, lavandin, and rosemary. Care: Alcoholic extracts have quite a high concentration of thujone which can have toxic effects in large doses. The essential oil should always be used with great care as even small doses can be poisonous.The herb should be avoided during pregnancy because it is a uterine stimulant. Do not use sage if suffering from epilepsy. Women who are breast-feeding should only use sage in medicinal amounts if they want to dry up the flow of milk. Sage should be avoided when fever is present. DISCLAIMER: This page is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for accurate diagnosis and treatment by a qualified health care professional. The author is neither a chemist nor an herbalist and has had no medical training whatsoever. The content herein is the product of research, not practical experience. |
Salvia
is from the Latin salvere, meaning "to heal," 
The essential
oil, extracted by steam distillation, ranges from 1.2 to 2.5% of dry
leaves. Constituents of sage oil include -thujone, camphor, linalool,
1,8-cineole, cis-ocimene, -thujone, sabinyl acetate and several
other compounds. The quality of the oil of sage differs by
geographic region, but this may be attributable to the use of different
sage species or types. The most common adulterant to sage oils is
thujone, from the leaves of Juniperus virginiana, red cedar.
An oleoresin is obtained by organic solvent extraction. 
The thujone
in the volatile oil has an antiseptic and antibiotic action. Salvia
deals effectively with throat infections, dental abscesses, infected
gums and mouth ulcers. It can also be applied to external wounds. The
phenolic acids in Salvia are particularly potent against Staphylococcus
aureus. In vitro, sage oil has been shown to be effective
against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia
coli and Salmonella species, and against filamentous fungi
and yeasts such as Candida albicans. Salvia also has an
astringent action due to its relatively high tannin content and can be
used in the treatment of infantile diarrhoea. Its antiseptic action is
of value where there is intestinal infection. Rosmarinic acid
contributes to the herb's anti-inflammatory activity. 