Salvia officinalis, Sage

Common Names

Narrow-leaved sage, garden sage, Spanish sage,

German = Salbei, French = Sauge, Spanish = Salvia, Italian = Salvia grande

History

Medieval uses: “Cleans out the system”.
Sage holds the place of honour; of good scent it is full of virtue for many ills.
They are useful when boiled to strengthen the nerves; it is also useful for the lungs. If the foetus in utero is dead, let the woman boil sage with white wine, strain it carefully, strain it carefully and she will be delivered of the same with safety to her life. Also used for poisoned wounds; it will extract the poison.
Drank in the morning in order to preserve health in fasting.
As a lung salve, against inflammation. Gout, for a dangerous cough, ophthalmic, for strangury, tertian ague, a plaster for erysipelas, for any kind of wounded intergument. Ointment for bruises. Typhus fever. To restore speech when lost from a disease. For erysipelas. For swelling in the thighs.
For choler in the stomach bath in fennel & sage.
For a persistent cough. For cake (dysmenorrhea) in a woman’s belly. For all manners of dropsies. For palsy.

This herb’s name comes from the Latin salvere, meaning to save. In Chinese medicine it is prescribed for menstrual problems, abdominal pain, insomnia, hepatitis and hives.

Medicinal uses

Aromatic, carminative, spasmolytic, antiseptic, astringent, anti-hydrotic (please see Glossary)

Benefits

The thujone in the volatile oil has an antiseptic and antibiotic action and, when taken as a mouthwash, Salvia deals effectively with throat infections, dental abscesses, infected gums and mouth ulcers. It can also be applied to external wounds. The essential oil, heated in a vaporiser, will disinfect sick-rooms. 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.

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. Its 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.

Salvia has a strong antihydrotic action, and was a traditional treatment for night sweats in tuberculosis sufferers. Its appreciable oestrogenic effect make it particularly beneficial for the night sweats of the menopause (it should never be used to suppress perspiration in fevers). Its oestrogenic effects may also be used to treat some cases of dysmenorrhoea and menstrual irregularity or amenorrhoea. It is effective in reducing milk production, and can be used during the process of weaning an infant off the breast.

Warnings

Alcoholic extracts of Salvia have quite a high concentration of thujone which can have toxic effects in large doses. The herb should be avoided during pregnancy because it is a uterine stimulant. The essential oil should always be used with great care as even small doses can be poisonous.

References

Bradley, P.R. (ed.) 1992 British Herbal Compendium, Volume 1, BHMA, Bournemouth.

BHMA 1983 British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, BHMA, Bournemouth.

Culpeper, N. 1649 Complete Herbal and English Physician, 1990 reprint of the 1814 London edition of Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, Meyer, Illinois.

Grieve, M. 1931 A Modern Herbal, (ed. C.F. Leyel 1985), London.

Hoffmann, D. 1990 The New Holistic Herbal, Second Edition, Element, Shaftesbury.

Lust, J. 1990 The Herb Book, Bantam, London.

Mabey, R. (ed.) 1991 The Complete New Herbal, Penguin, London.

Mills, S.Y. 1993 The A-Z of Modern Herbalism, Diamond Books, London.

Ody, P. 1993 The Herb Society's Complete Medicinal Herbal, Dorling Kindersley, London.

Weiss, R.F. 1991 Herbal Medicine, Beaconsfield Arcanum, Beaconsfield.

Special thanks to www.purplesage.org.uk