Sage

SAGE (Salvia officinalis L.). A semi-shrub of the Lamiaceae family, 30 cm to 1 m in height. The leaves are opposite, long-petioled (see illustration), narrowed at the base, up to 5 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide, wrinkled. The smell is strongly aromatic, camphor-like. The taste is bitter-spicy, astringent. In medicine, the leaves Folia Salviae are used, which are collected just before the flowers open and dried in the shade. Sage originates from Spain and grows wild in Southern Europe. It is cultivated almost throughout Europe, in the central and southern parts of the RSFSR and in the Ukrainian SSR. From the leaves of Salvia sclarea, essential oil is obtained, Oleum Salviae. The components of sage leaves: essential oil (0.6% to 2.5%), 5% tannins, 6.2% gum-like substance, 5.6% resin, 12% extractive substances, 2.2% protein, no more than 12% ash, etc. For medical purposes, sage is rarely taken internally as an astringent and disinfectant, but is used more externally, in the form of a decoction of 5.0-25.0 in 100.0 for rinsing in catarrhs of mucous membranes, dental abscesses, etc., with the essential oil acting antiseptically and the tannins acting astringently. The essential oil of sage, obtained by distilling the leaves with water, is a liquid, transparent, yellowish or greenish in color, with a characteristic sage smell.