sage

Aromatic perennial herb (Salvia officinalis) of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean. Its leaves are used fresh or dried as a flavouring in many foods. The stems, 2 ft (60 cm) tall, have rough or wrinkled, downy, gray-green or whitish green oval leaves. The flowers may be purple, pink, white, or red. Since the Middle Ages, sage tea has been brewed as a spring tonic and a stimulant believed to strengthen the memory and promote wisdom. Seealso salvia.

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(born Aug. 4, 1816, Shenandoah, N.Y., U.S.—died July 22, 1906, Lawrence Beach, N.Y.) U.S. financier. He worked as an errand boy, studying arithmetic and bookkeeping in his spare time, and in 1839 he started a wholesale grocery business, which earned him enough money to start a Hudson River shipping trade. He served in Congress (1853–57). Sage invested successfully in the La Crosse Railroad in Wisconsin, and he eventually acquired an interest in more than 40 railroads, serving as director or president of 20. He helped organize the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. In 1872 he originated stock-market puts and calls (options to buy or sell a set amount of stock at a set price and within a given time limit), but he stopped dealing in them after losing $7 million in the panic of 1884. His wife, Margaret Olivia Sage, established the Russell Sage Foundation and Russell Sage College (Troy, N.Y.) after his death.

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(born Aug. 4, 1816, Shenandoah, N.Y., U.S.—died July 22, 1906, Lawrence Beach, N.Y.) U.S. financier. He worked as an errand boy, studying arithmetic and bookkeeping in his spare time, and in 1839 he started a wholesale grocery business, which earned him enough money to start a Hudson River shipping trade. He served in Congress (1853–57). Sage invested successfully in the La Crosse Railroad in Wisconsin, and he eventually acquired an interest in more than 40 railroads, serving as director or president of 20. He helped organize the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. In 1872 he originated stock-market puts and calls (options to buy or sell a set amount of stock at a set price and within a given time limit), but he stopped dealing in them after losing $7 million in the panic of 1884. His wife, Margaret Olivia Sage, established the Russell Sage Foundation and Russell Sage College (Troy, N.Y.) after his death.

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

It is much cultivated as a kitchen and medicinal 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.

It is also called Garden sage, Kitchen sage, and Dalmatian sage. The word sage or derived names are also used for a number of related and non related species.

Usage

Spiritual use

Sage has been known to be used for spiritual and sometimes supernatural purposes. Many use sage while performing an exorcism with the belief that burning the sage will drive out dark entities and demons. Sage is also used in the practices of Witchcraft and Wicca.

Culinary use

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 the United States, 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 sautéd 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

The Latin name for sage, salvia, means “to heal". Although the effectiveness of Common Sage is open to debate, it has been recommended at one time or another for virtually every ailment. Modern evidence supports its effects as an anhidrotic, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogenic, hypoglycemic, and tonic. 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.

Internally for indigestion, gas, liver complaints, excessive lactation, excessive perspiration, excessive salivation, anxiety, depression, female sterility, menopausal problems.It is astringent and stimulant in its properties and used to treat joint pain like Sandhivata, Amavata

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

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.

Toxic in excess or over long periods. Contraindicated during pregnancy and for epilepsy. Caution is indicated when used in conjunction with central nervous system stimulants or depressants.

Cultivars

A number of cultivars of the plant exist. The majority of these are cultivated more often for ornament than for their herbal properties. All 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 large leaves,
• 'Icterina', a cultivar with yellow-green variegated leaves,
• 'Alba', a white-flowered cultivar,
• 'Extrakta', has leaves with higher oil concentrations.
• 'Lavandulaefolia', a small leaved cultivar.

Quotes

Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden?|20px|20px|attributed to Martin Luther

''Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden, if not because nothing can stand against death?|20px|20px|attributed to Hildegard of Bingen

Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage.|20px|20px|Henry David Thoreau in the conclusion to Walden

See also

• Thujone
• Essential oil
• Aroma compound
• Salvia

References

Sources

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

External links

• Medicinal use: from appliedhealth.com
• Medicinal use, modern and historical: from botanical.com