Information about Common sage

Common sage

flowers

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Salvia
Species:	*S. officinalis*

Binomial name

Salvia officinalis
L.

Sage leaves - first variety

Sage leaves - second variety

Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is a small evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean region.

It is much cultivated as a kitchen and medicinal herb, and is also called Garden sage, Kitchen sage, and Dalmatian sage. In southern Europe related species are sometimes cultivated for the same purpose, and may be confused with the common sage. Although this plant was the one originally called by this name sage, a number of related species are now also called by it, and are described in more detail in the article on sage.

The uses and benefits ascribed to it are many and varied, and are often shared with related species. Uses of common sage include:

infusions, which are considered to have a calming effect, to soothe a sore throat and as a digestive agent
preservative flavourings, for instance of cheese
as a cooking flavouring, such as in sage and onion stuffing
as a deodorizer preparation used from the extracts of the herb

Common sage is also grown in parts of Europe, especially the Balkans for distillation of the essential oil, though other species, such as Salvia triloba may also be harvested and distilled with it.

A number of cultivars of the plant exist. The majority of these are cultivated more often for ornament than for their herbal properties. All these are valuable as small ornamental flowering shrubs, and for low ground cover, especially in sunny dry situations. They are easily raised from summer cuttings. Named cultivars include

"Purpurascens", a purple-leafed cultivar, considered by some to be strongest of the garden sages,
"Tricolor", a cultivar with white, yellow and green variegated leaves,
"Berggarten", a cultivar with huge leaves,
"Icterina", a cultivar with yellow-green variegated leaves,
"Alba", a white-flowered cultivar,
"Lavandulaefolia", a small leaved cultivar.

	Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden?
—attributed to Martin Luther

	''Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden, if not because nothing can stand against death?
—attributed to Hildegard of Bingen

	Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage.
—Henry David Thoreau in the conclusion to Walden

Culinary uses

Painting from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (1887)

As a herb, sage is considered to have a slight peppery flavour. In Western cooking, it is used for flavouring fatty meats (especially as a marinade), cheeses (Sage Derby), and some drinks. In Britain and Flanders, sage is used with onion for poultry or pork stuffing and also in sauces. In French cuisine, sage is used for cooking white meat and in vegetable soups. Germans often use it in sausage dishes, and sage forms the dominant flavouring in the English Lincolnshire sausage. Sage is also common in Italian cooking. Sage is sauteed in olive oil and butter until crisp, then plain or stuffed pasta is added (burro e salvia). In the Balkans and the Middle East, it is used when roasting mutton.

Medicinal use

Actions

The Latin name for sage: salvia, means “to heal”. Although the effectiveness of Common Sage is often open to debate, it has been recommended at one time or another for virtually every ailment. Modern evidence supports its effects as an antihydrotic, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogenic, hypoglycemic, and tonic.[1]. In a double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial, sage was found to be effective in the management of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.^[1]

Active Constituents

The strongest active constituents of Sage are within its essential oil, which contains cineole, borneol, and thujone. Sage leaf contains tannic acid, oleic acid, ursonic acid, ursolic acid, cornsole, cornsolic acid, fumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, niacin, nicotinamide, flavones, flavone glycosides, and estrogenic substances.[2]

Uses

Internally for indigestion, gas, liver complaints, excessive lactation, excessive perspiration, excessive salivation, anxiety, depression, female sterility, menopausal problems.

Externally for insect bites, throat, mouth, gum, skin infections, vaginal discharge.

Source: The Herb Society of America New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses, Deni Bown (New York: DK, 2001)

Health Precautions

Toxic in excess or over long periods. Contraindicated during pregnancy and for epilepsy.

Drug Interactions: from appliedhealth.com

References

1. ^ Akhondzadeh S, Noroozian M, Mohammadi M, Ohadinia S, Jamshidi AH, Khani M. (2003). "Salvia officinalis extract in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial". J Clin Pharm Ther 28 (1): 53-9. PMID 12605619.

The Herb Society of America New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses,Deni Bown (New York: DK, 2001)

External links

Medicinal use

Angelica • Basil • Basil, holy • Basil, Thai • Bay leaf • Boldo • Borage • Cannabis • Chervil • Chives • Coriander leaf (cilantro) • Curry leaf • Dill • Epazote • Eryngium foetidum (long coriander) • Hoja santa • Houttuynia cordata (giấp c) • Hyssop • Lavender • Lemon balm • Lemon grass • Lemon verbena • Limnophila aromatica (rice paddy herb) • Lovage • Marjoram • Mint • Mitsuba • Oregano • Parsley • Perilla (shiso) • Rosemary • Rue • Sage • Savory • Sorrel • Stevia • Tarragon • Thyme • Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) • Woodruff

Spices

African pepper • Ajwain (bishop's weed) • Aleppo pepper • Allspice • Amchur (mango powder) • Anise • Aromatic ginger • Asafoetida • Camphor • Caraway • Cardamom • Cardamom, black • Cassia • Cayenne pepper • Celery seed • Chili • Cinnamon • Clove • Coriander seed • Cubeb • Cumin • Cumin, black • Dill seed • Fennel • Fenugreek • Fingerroot (krachai) • Galangal, greater • Galangal, lesser • Garlic • Ginger • Grains of Paradise • Horseradish • Juniper berry • Liquorice • Mace • Mahlab • Malabathrum (tejpat) • Mustard, black • Mustard, brown • Mustard, white • Nasturtium • Nigella (kalonji) • Nutmeg • Paprika • Pepper, black • Pepper, green • Pepper, long • Pepper, pink, Brazilian • Pepper, pink, Peruvian • Pepper, white • Pomegranate seed (anardana) • Poppy seed • Saffron • Sarsaparilla • Sassafras • Sesame • Sichuan pepper (huājiāo, sansho) • Star anise • Sumac • Tasmanian pepper • Tamarind • Turmeric • Wasabi • Zedoary

Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
..... Click the link for more information.

Plantae
Haeckel, 1866^[1]

Divisions

Green algae

Chlorophyta
Charophyta

Land plants (embryophytes)

Non-vascular land plants (bryophytes)

..... Click the link for more information.

Magnoliophyta

Classes

Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Liliopsida - Monocots

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms comprise the two extant groups of seed plants.
..... Click the link for more information.

Magnoliopsida

Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class of flowering plants. By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its can otherwise vary, being more inclusive or less inclusive depending upon the classification system being
..... Click the link for more information.

Lamiales
Bromhead

Families

See text

The order Lamiales is a taxon in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. Lamiales formerly had a restricted circumscription (e.g.
..... Click the link for more information.

Lamiaceae
Lindley

Genera

Many, see text

Ref: Watson and Dallwitz
2002-07-22

Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the Mint family, is a family of plants in about 210 genera and some 3,500 species.
..... Click the link for more information.

Salvia
L.

Species

see List of Salvia species

Salvia is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is one of three genera commonly referred to as Sage.
..... Click the link for more information.

binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
..... Click the link for more information.

Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné)

Carl von Linné, Alexander Roslin, 1775. Currently owned by and hanging at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
..... Click the link for more information.

evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose all their foliage for part of the year.

Leaf persistence in evergreen plants may vary from only a few months (with new leaves constantly being grown and old
..... Click the link for more information.

A subshrub (Latin suffrutex) is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody perennial plant. It is distinguished from a shrub by its ground-hugging stems and lower height, with overwintering perennial woody growth typically less than 10–20 cm
..... Click the link for more information.

Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
..... Click the link for more information.

Mediterranean is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. It covers an approximate area of 2.
..... Click the link for more information.

A kitchen, at least in the western view of the word, is a room or part of a room (sometimes called "kitchen area" or in modern times in the USA "kitchenette") used for food preparation including cooking, and sometimes also for eating and entertaining guests, if the kitchen is large
..... Click the link for more information.

Herbs (IPA: hə(ɹ)b, or əɹb; see pronunciation differences) are seed-bearing plants without woody stems, which die down to the ground after flowering.
..... Click the link for more information.

Sage or SAGE can refer to one of the following

Plants

Any of a number of ornamental and medicinal plants in three genera of the plant family Lamiaceae:
Salvia
Common sage,

..... Click the link for more information.

Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep and other mammals. Cheese is made by coagulating milk. This is accomplished by first acidification with a bacterial culture and then employing an enzyme, rennet (or rennet substitutes) to coagulate the milk to "curds
..... Click the link for more information.

Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km² and an approximate population of 55 million people.
..... Click the link for more information.

essential oil is any concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants, which are called aromatic herbs or aromatic plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal
..... Click the link for more information.

S. libanotica

Binomial name
Salvia libanotica
Boiss. & Gaill.

Salvia libanotica or East Mediterranean sage
..... Click the link for more information.

cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because it has desirable characteristics (decorative or useful) that distinguish it from otherwise similar plants of the same species. When propagated it retains those characteristics.
..... Click the link for more information.

Groundcover is a plant used for the purpose of growing over an area of ground to hide it or to protect it from erosion or drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover is the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer.
..... Click the link for more information.

Cutting is the separation of a physical object, or a portion of a physical object, into two portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. An implement commonly used for cutting is the knife or in medical cases the scalpel.
..... Click the link for more information.

For other people named Martin Luther, see .

Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,^[1] theologian, and church reformer. He is also considered to be the founder of Protestantism.
..... Click the link for more information.

Hildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis; 1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard
..... Click the link for more information.

Henry David Thoreau

Central topics Henry David Thoreau
Civil Disobedience
''Herald of Freedom
Life Without Principle
''The Last Days of John Brown
Paradise (to be) Regained

..... Click the link for more information.

Walden

Author Henry David Thoreau
Original title Walden; or, Life in the Woods
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Autobiography
Publisher Ticknor and Fields: Boston (Original Publisher)
..... Click the link for more information.

Marination, also known as marinating, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine (aqua marina
..... Click the link for more information.

Common Sage

Culinary uses

Medicinal use

References

External links

See also

Plants