Perennial herbaceous plant up to 75 cm tall. The root is woody, branched, with a thick lobe of thin roots in the lower part. Stems numerous, tetrahedral, densely leafy, woody at the roots. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, entire, oblong-ovate or oblong, young – white tomentose with a crenate plate along the edge. The flowers are irregular, two-lipped, blue-violet, pink or white, collected in whorls, forming racemose inflorescences at the ends of the branches. The fruit is four-nutlet, remaining in the calyx. Blooms in the second year of vegetation from late May to July.
The plant is cultivated in the Crimea and the Caucasus. Comes from the Mediterranean countries.
Medicinal raw materials are leaves collected in the first year of vegetation in September, and in subsequent years 2-3 times from the beginning of flowering to September inclusive. Drying of leaves is carried out in the air in the shade, in attics or in dryers at a temperature of 35-40 ° C.
The smell of dried raw materials is fragrant, especially when rubbed, the taste is bitter-spicy, slightly astringent. Storage period 1 year.
Sage leaves contain starch, resin, gum, protein, tannins, mineral salts and essential oil (up to 2.5%). Sage oil contains cineole, thujone, pinene and other terpenes. Fresh leaves contain phytoncides and have a strong bactericidal effect.
Sage leaves have a disinfectant, anti-inflammatory, astringent, hemostatic, emollient and sweat-limiting effect. It is used as an infusion or tincture of leaves for rinsing the mouth with stomatitis, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, all kinds of catarrhal conditions of the mucous membranes, tonsillitis, gum disease and gynecological diseases in the form of therapeutic douching.
Sage is preferable to St. John’s wort in cases of suppuration of the gums and mucous membranes of the mouth. The astringent and antimicrobial action of sage is used to suppress coccal infections, mainly associated with staphylococci.
Since ancient times, doctors have noticed the anti-perspirant effect of this plant, which begins relatively quickly after taking sage tea or tincture and reaches a maximum after 2 hours. The inhibition of perspiration sometimes lasts all day. The most effective sage is considered for night sweats in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Inside, tea from the leaves is prescribed for chronic bronchitis, inflammation of the renal pelvis. In pure form and mixed with other herbs, sage is used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and gallbladder, as a diuretic, carminative, choleretic and astringent. With bronchial asthma, sage leaves are smoked along with dope leaves. It can also provide valuable assistance to women during lactation. Sage tea or tincture taken over several days as directed by a physician
In folk medicine, sage is highly valued as a remedy, the leaves are used for gastritis, colitis, liver disease, kidney disease, bronchitis, as an expectorant, emollient and diuretic; with shaking paralysis (with all this disease, it is recommended to simmer the infusion of sage for a long time, take it orally and make sage baths). The green, stemless leaves, dried, are said to be helpful in bad memory, night sweats, and dropsy. Sage is most widely used in the form of rinses for sore throats, gingivitis, ulcers in the corners of the mouth (especially in babies), for mumps, etc. It is used as a decoction, infusion, tincture, powder. The fresh herb is applied externally for tumors.
The people have long used sage flower tincture: 3 ounces of flowers, 800 ml of alcohol and 400 ml of water insist for 40 days in the sun in a closed glass vessel. Take 1 tbsp. spoon in half with water in the morning and on an empty stomach. This tincture is recommended for the elderly to prolong life and stimulate the nervous system (the shelf life of the tincture is 1 year).
Sage is used as an expectorant; a decoction, tincture of wine or powder is drunk for inflammation of the renal pelvis and gallbladder (for greater effect, wormwood powder is added – 3 parts of sage 1 part of wormwood).
As an external remedy, sage products are used for festering wounds (in the form of infusion), for thrush in babies (with vinegar). With flux, toothache, gum disease and throat, a mixture of 2 decoctions is good: from sage (5 g per 1 glass of water) and oak bark (5 g per 1 glass of water). Broths are filtered and mixed. The resulting mixture is used for hot rinses.
Ancient physicians (Hippocrates, Dioscorides, etc.) considered sage to be a “sacred herb” and the most useful medicine, especially for infertility in women. In Egypt, after epidemics, women were forced to use sage in order to multiply the people more quickly. With infertility, sage juice with a small amount of salt was recommended.
In Chinese medicine, sage is used as a general tonic, it is also prescribed for dysmenorrhea, articular rheumatism, and externally for chronic skin diseases.
Sage is used for hypertension, atherosclerosis (especially in menopause in women), tremor paralysis, and also for therapeutic baths, rinses and douches.
Application
Infusion 1: Art. a spoonful of crushed sage leaves is poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for 20 minutes, filtered, stored in a cool place for no more than 2-3 days, sometimes the number of leaves for making an infusion is increased to 20 g per glass of boiling water. Art. a spoonful of infusion is diluted in a glass of water to rinse with gingivitis and stomatitis. Sometimes the leaves are used in conjunction with boric acid, which is added in an amount of 2 g per glass of infusion. Bred 1 tbsp. a spoonful of this infusion in a glass of warm boiled water and rinse your mouth after eating.
Tincture: 20%; 20 drops 3 times every day.
A mixture of medicines for thrush: 1 part vinegar and 3 parts decoction (20 g per 200 ml) from sage; used as a poultice.
Infusion 2: 5 g of chopped herbs brew 400 ml of boiling water, take 20-30 ml every 3-4 hours for gastritis, stomach ulcers, flatulence, inflammation of the liver and gallbladder.
In case of a disease of the nervous system, the following recipe is recommended: sage leaves – 5 g, dubrovnik leaves – 5 g, boiling water – 50 ml. Take 3 times daily before meals.
Sage wine is also used for medicinal purposes: sage leaves – 80 g, wine – 1 liter. Infuse for 8 days, take 20-30 ml after meals.
Powder: 1 pinch or 1-3 g 3 times daily.
This plant should not be taken in high doses, for a long time and without a doctor’s prescription, as poisoning and irritation of the mucous membranes may occur.
During asthmatic attacks, a few small puffs of a cigarette made from dried dope leaves and sage give a good effect. Mixture: take equally a small leaf of dope and the same leaf of sage, roll a cigarette, puff several times not very strongly with smoke. The entrance is passing. This, of course, does not cure asthma, but it brings relief.
Dr. sage varieties are less effective.