What Is Salvia Officinalis?

The species Salvia officinalis, also commonly known as sage, is something that is often found in the average kitchen cupboard to be used for cooking, but it also used in medical research and in spiritual practices. Sage has existed for centuries and has been used in a variety of ways since its original discovery. Surprisingly, sage is being used heavily in medical research to determine its ability to be antimicrobial as well as its ability to improve cognitive function. Initially, sage was used for medicinal purposes and it seems that people are trying to support these ancient claims.
The scientific name of sage is Salvia officinalis with the subkingdom of Tracheobionta which is the category of vascular plants. The subdivision is Spermatophyta
This plant is a perennial plant which blooms in the spring and summer and wilts in autumn and winter. The plant can grow to about two feet in height and the leaves tend to be a gray-green to a white-green in range. The flowers tend to have a number of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It is known that this species attracts butterflies. The flowers range from purple, pink, white, or red in color and produce nutlet fruits. The native range of this species is the Mediterranean and Northern Africa. Sage has a whorled leaf arrangement and the stems are usually 1.5-2 inches in length. This plant tends to bloom primarily in August and will not last more than three to four years without degenerating. For replanting purposes the plant is usually propagated by cuttings rather than
For example, research is being used to determine if sage has anti-inflammatory properties. Baricevic and colleagues are working to prove that sage has topical anti-inflammatory properties. They have supported that sage is anti-bacterial, fungistatic, virustatic, astringent, eupeptic, anti-hydrotic. Sage has also has been proven to be used as an active ingredient to treat acute and chronic bronchitis due to its anti-viral activity. In short, mice were infected with an irritant with some being the control and remained untreated by sage and others being treated with sage. The study conducted did support that the chloroform extracts from Salvia officinalis demonstrated strong anti-inflammatory properties. Another study being investigated is the antimicrobial properties of sage. Bozin and collegues analyzed sage by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and assayed in order to demonstrate antimicrobial properties. Sage was tested against thirteen bacterial strains, six different types of fungi, and five dermatomycetes. Significant finding supported that sage had antimicrobial properties with Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, S. enteritidis, and Shigella sonei showing the biggest results. Additionally, sage is being used to treat patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Akhondzadeh and colleagues administered Salvia officinalis to