Sage (Salvia divinorum or Salvia officinalis), is one of the best known medicinal plants, belongs to the Laminaceae, family of the mind and grows in mild climates.

The whole plant, including leaves, is dark green, hairy and gives off a typical aroma.

Phytochemical analysis reveals a good number of substances useful for human health

• Terpenoids: monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids
• Phenolic compounds: tannins, coumarins, flavonoids (ellagic acid, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, epicatecin, rutin and luteolin-7-glucoside, epicatechin, epigallocatechin gallate
• Glycoside derivatives: saponins, flavonoid glycosides, cardiac glycosides

Sage extracts have hindered the early stages of colon carcinogenesis by showing chemo-preventive effects (4), preventive or therapeutic activity against angiogenesis-related disorders (5), anti-proliferative activity against tumour cells (6), mutagenic and antimutagenic potential (7), antinociceptive properties on chemical nociception behavioural patterns involving an opioid mechanism (8).

It contains vitamin K and rosmarinic acid (an acid also found in rosemary), which act as antioxidants to combat inflammation and oxidation (1) (2).

Sage leaves contain triterpenoids, such as ursolic acid and oleanoic acid and tannins (3).

It also has properties to improve memory function of brain .

Other interesting components found in sage

• camphor
• 1,8-cineole
• α-thujene
• α-pinene
• β-pinene
• myrcene

Many sage species, among which, used in the medical field:

• Salvia officinalis
• Salvia somalensis
• Dolomitic sage
• Sage polystachya
• Sage lavandulfolia
• Salvia chamaedryoides
• Sage apiana
• Salvia rhytidea
• Austrian Sage
• Salvia wiedemannii Boiss
• Salvia miltiorrhiza
• Salvia adenophora
• Salvia x jamensis

References____________________________________________________________________

(1) Kelm MA, Nair MG, Strasburg GM, DeWitt DL. Antioxidant and cyclooxygenase inhibitory phenolic compounds from Ocimum sanctum Linn. Phytomedicine 2000 Mar; 7 (1): 7-13. 2000. PMID: 12240.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10782484

(2) Malencic D, Gasic O, Popovic M, Boza P. Screening for antioxidant properties of Sage reflexa hornem. Phytother Res 2000 Nov; 14 (7): 546-8. 2000. PMID: 12230.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Malencic%20D%2C%20Gasic%20O%2C%20Popovic%20M%2C%20Boza%20P

(3) European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy. Salviae officinalis folium. 2nd ed. New York: Thieme; 2003. ESCOP Monographs; pp. 452-5.

(4) Pedro DF, Ramos AA, Lima CF, Baltazar F, Pereira-Wilson C. Colon Cancer Chemoprevention by Sage Tea Drinking: Decreased DNA Damage and Cell Proliferation. Phytother Res. 2016 Feb;30(2):298-305. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5531. 

(5) Keshavarz M, Mostafaie A, Mansouri K, Bidmeshkipour A, Motlagh HR, Parvaneh S. In vitro and ex vivo antiangiogenic activity of Salvia officinalis. Phytother Res. 2010 Oct;24(10):1526-31. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3168.

(6) Kontogianni VG, Tomic G, Nikolic I, Nerantzaki AA, Sayyad N, Stosic-Grujicic S, Stojanovic I, Gerothanassis IP, Tzakos AG. Phytochemical profile of Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia officinalis extracts and correlation to their antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity. Food Chem. 2013 Jan 1;136(1):120-9. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.07.091.

(7) Vuković-Gacić B, Nikcević S, Berić-Bjedov T, Knezević-Vukcević J, Simić D. Antimutagenic effect of essential oil of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and its monoterpenes against UV-induced mutations in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Food Chem Toxicol. 2006 Oct;44(10):1730-8. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2006.05.011. 

(8) Rodrigues MR, Kanazawa LK, das Neves TL, da Silva CF, Horst H, Pizzolatti MG, Santos AR, Baggio CH, Werner MF. Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory potential of extract and isolated compounds from the leaves of Salvia officinalis in mice. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Jan 31;139(2):519-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.11.042. 

Biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms, responsible for more than 60% of the chronic human infections and they represent one of the leading concerns in medicine. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is human pathogenic bacteria which causes numerous diseases and is known for its ability to produce biofilm. Ocimum basilicum L. (basil) and Salvia officinalis L. (sage) are widely used plants in traditional medicine for the treatment of different conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential of basil and sage essential oils against P. aeruginosa biofilm producing strains. The efficacy of two essential oils on P. aeruginosa biofilm forming ability was determined using crystal violet method. Out of 15 strains isolated from different clinical biological samples, two were strong, 11 moderate and one weak biofilm producer. Good efficacy of sage essential oil towards strong and weak biofilm producers, but not of basil essential oil, was observed. In the case of moderate biofilm producers, 81.8% showed lower biofilm production after incubation with the sage oil, while 63.6% showed the reduction of biofilm production after basil essential oil treatment. The obtained results showed high potential of both oils for the treatment of persistent infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms (1).

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation triggers skin photoaging processes, which disrupt the normal three-dimensional integrity of skin. UV-induced oxidative stress, both directly and indirectly, stimulates complex signaling pathways. UV radiation activates skin cell surface receptors on a molecular level and triggers severe changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, resulting in skin photoaging.Sclareol isolated from Salvia officinalis is widely used as a fragrance material. In this study, sclareol inhibited various photoaging phenomena in human fibroblasts and RHE model. In addition, sclareol-containing cream improved wrinkles in a clinical trial. Taken together, sclareol alleviates facial wrinkle formation via an antiphotoaging mechanism and may be an effective candidate ingredient (2).

Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae) has been used in south of Brazil as a diary homemade, in food condiment and tea-beverage used for the treatment of several disorders. The objective of this study was to characterize chemical compounds in the hydroalcoholic (ExtHS) and aqueous (ExtAS) extract from Salvia officinalis (L.) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and by high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF MS/MS), evaluate in vitro ability to scavenge the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•+), catalase (CAT-like) and superoxide dismutase (SOD-like) activity, moreover cytotoxic by MTT assay, alterations on cell morphology by giemsa and apoptotic-induced mechanism for annexin V/propidium iodide. Chemical identification sage extracts revealed the presence of acids and phenolic compounds. In vitro antioxidant analysis for both extracts indicated promising activities. The cytotoxic assays using tumor (Hep-2, HeLa, A-549, HT-29 and A-375) and in non-tumor (HEK-293 and MRC-5), showed selectivity for tumor cell lines. Immunocytochemistry presenting a majority of tumor cells at late stages of the apoptotic process and necrosis. Given the results presented here, Brazilian Salvia officinalis (L.) used as condiment and tea, may protect the body against some disease, in particularly those where oxidative stress is involved, like neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation and cancer (3).

Salvia officinalis essential oil exhibited anticandidal activities against Candida albicans and had inhibitory effects on the adhesion of the cells to polymethyl methacrylate resin surface. With further testing and development, Salvia officinalis essential oil may be used as an antifungal denture cleanser to prevent candidal adhesion and thus reduce the risk of candida-associated denture stomatitis (4).

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(1) Potential of Ocimum basilicum L. and Salvia officinalis L. essential oils against biofilms of P. aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Stojanović-Radić Z, Pejcić M, Stojanović N, Sharifi-Rad J, Stanković N.

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2016 Aug

(2) Sclareol isolated from Salvia officinalis improves facial wrinkles via an antiphotoaging mechanism.

Park JE, Lee KE, Jung E, Kang S, Kim YJ.

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2016 Jul

(3) Pharmacological perspectives from Brazilian Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae): antioxidant, and antitumor in mammalian cells.

Garcia CS, Menti C, Lambert AP, Barcellos T, Moura S, Calloni C, Branco CS, Salvador M, Roesch-Ely M, Henriques JA.

An Acad Bras Cienc. 2016 Mar.

(4) In vitro effects of Salvia officinalis L. essential oil on Candida albicans.

Sookto T et al. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. (2013)