Sage

Also called

Garden Sage, Common Sage, Kitchen Sage

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• Sage leaf has long been used in European folk medicine for indigestion, heavy sweating, and inflammation of the mouth, throat and skin. These uses are reflected in the European Medicines Agency's traditional-use profile, and Germany's Commission E approved sage for indigestion and heavy sweating. Elsewhere, traditional uses have also included seizures, ulcers, gout, rheumatism, dizziness, tremor, paralysis, diarrhea and high blood sugar.[3]

  Technical detail: dyspepsia, excessive perspiration, hyperglycemia.

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

• Lab and animal studies of sage and its natural compounds report:

  • Reduced inflammation and pain in mice.
  • Antioxidant activity; in diabetic rats, rosmarinic acid boosted the body's own protective enzymes in the pancreas.
  • Slowed growth or death of several kinds of human cancer cells in the lab, and effects on tumors in mice.
  • Lower blood sugar in normal and diabetic animals.
  • Action on the same brain receptors as anti-anxiety medicines (benzodiazepines), and fewer seizures in animals.

  These are lab and animal findings, not established effects in people.[3]

  Technical detail: anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects from flavonoid extracts (mouse carrageenan model), manool, carnosol and ursolic acid; carnosol radical-scavenging comparable to alpha-tocopherol; rosmarinic acid increased pancreatic catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats; pro-apoptotic and growth-inhibitory effects of extracts, rosmarinic acid, caryophyllene, alpha-humulene, manool and ursolic acid; hypoglycemic effects via inhibition of hepatocyte gluconeogenesis and PPAR-gamma-mediated reduction of insulin resistance; benzodiazepine receptor activation and inhibition of pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures.

Research in people

• There is only a small amount of research on sage in people:

  • Early studies suggest common sage may reduce how often menopausal women have hot flashes.
  • A few studies suggest sage, Spanish sage or combinations may improve memory and thinking scores in healthy people, but the evidence is limited. Very little research has looked at sage for Alzheimer's disease.
  • Some studies suggest possible benefits for cholesterol and other blood fats, but there isn't enough evidence on blood sugar.
  • Sage has also been studied for sore throat.

  [2]

• A review of trials on sage and memory found:

  • In healthy adults, a single dose of dried sage leaf or sage oil improved mood and performance on thinking tasks during testing, and a 333 mg dose improved memory.
  • In a 16-week trial in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, 60 drops a day of a sage extract improved thinking and memory scores compared with placebo.

  The reviewers noted the studies had weaknesses, including different, non-standardized preparations, so firm conclusions about how well sage works can't be drawn.[4]

  Technical detail: single doses of 300–1,332 mg; 333 mg enhanced secondary memory across timepoints; Alzheimer's trial used a 1:1 Salvia officinalis extract in 45% alcohol, randomized, measured on the Clinical Dementia Rating and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale.