Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Available either as a dried herb or herbal tincture.

Please note this is a nutritional, functional horse food supplement and not veterinary medicine. See Dr Kellon's Horse Sense - 'Nutrition is not 'Alternative' Therapy.

Tincture

Our human-grade, certified organic tinctures give you a ready-to-absorb potent source of phytonutrients at the highest-strength available, for immediate absorption straight into the bloodstream and to the body’s cells.

100% certified organic pure tincture: Salvia officinalis (Sage) Leaf, Infused 1:3 35%, Organic Cultivated

Feed Guide

• Horse - 30-40ml / Pony - 15-20ml, daily in feed.
• Always shake the bottle to disperse any sediment.
• 3-year shelf-life.

Dried Herb

Produced to ecological standards and free from agro-chemicals.

Certified organic dried herb: Salvia officinalis (Sage) Leaf, Wild Harvested , Origin Albania

Feed Guide

• 5g/100kg bodyweight per day, thus for an average 500kg horse add 25g daily to feed.
• 1-year shelf-life.

Functional Nutritional Value

Constituents: Beta-carotene, vitamins B1, B2, B3, and C, calcium, iron, magnesium, volatile oils (thujone, borneol, cineol, camphor, pinene, salvene), bitter principle (picrosalvine), flavonoids, tannin, phenolic acids (rosmarinic, caffeic, labiatic), phytoestrogens, resin.

NB. Our range of botanicals are all grown, harvested and dried without the use of agri-chemicals, non-irradiated and GMO free - see our Quality page for Quality Management & Certification Documents. Laboratory tested for identification and compliance to the British and European Pharmacopoeia standards, and human grade.

Please be aware that if you're purchasing our dried botanicals for human use, our dried range is cut to appropriate sizes for feeding to horses.

More ...

Although there are approximately 500 varieties of sage, Salvia officinalis is the variety that has been historically used in Western herbalism as the primary sage. Its genus name is a derivative of the Latin salvus , meaning ‘healthy’, which is bang on when you consider its huge range of beneficial uses to promote wellness in the nervous, digestive, integumentary, reproductive, and immune systems. And even though it’s been used for centuries as a culinary herb, there’s a whole lot more to sage than just flavouring and preserving meats and cheeses.

Sage is, as herbalist Matthew Wood notes, “a herb of remarkable range and depth." Its specific indications for use are numerous, as are the issues it helps to balance, including anxiety, blood clots, colds, cystitis, depression, diarrhea, dyspepsia, fever, flatulence, flu, hot flashes, indigestion, irregular menses, memory problems, menopause symptoms, menorrhagia, migraines, night sweats, perspiration (excessive), respiratory congestion, rheumatic pain, and staphylococcus infection … to name a few!

In folk herbal traditions, sage was historically used as a herb to promote long life and increased wisdom, i.e. the ‘wise sage’, and also to attract protection and prosperity. In the 16th century, John Gerard - in line with Greco-Roman tradition - noted sage’s affinity for the head and the brain, saying that “ Sage is singularly good for the head and brain, it quickeneth the senses and memory, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have the palsy, and taketh away shakey trembling.”

And the research continues. Modern day studies on sage’s effectiveness as a nootropic, cognition-enhancing herb, particularly for memory, neurological changes and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, bears out this traditional wisdom. Compounds in sage act on the muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic systems that are involved in cognition and memory processes. Herbalist James Snow explains that because sage exhibits anticholinesterase activity (inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine ), this makes it an important supportive herb for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

As an example, in one study on patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found that 60-drops per day of sage extract (1:1 45%) taken for only 4 months produced significant improvements in cognition, with reduced agitation, (Akhondzadeh et al., 2003), which IMHO is really impressive.

In addition to its anticholinesterase activity, other factors contribute to sage’s ability to support cognitive health. As a powerful herb that protects brain tissue, sage has been shown in vitro to inhibit lipid peroxidation - a biomarker of oxidative stress and damage (Oboh & Henle, 2009). It also acts as an antioxidant that promotes the scavenging of free radicals, again indicating its potential usefulness in managing and preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative diseases associated with oxidative damage (Oboh & Henle, 2009). This same research also shows similar protective action in the liver.

Wood also notes that sage is well suited to support atrophic conditions because, like other herbs containing fixed oils, it increases digestion and helps to metabolise fats and oils by encouraging the release of bile. This may mean that in addition to directly impacting the digestive process, sage could offset the atrophy that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s by maintaining the integrity of fatty brain tissue.

Overall, modern studies have found that a single dose of sage extract or dried leaf is capable of increasing memory capacity and improving mood (Miroddi et al., 2014), but it needn’t always be taken internally. As herbalist Brigitte Mars (2007) explains, “Even just the aroma of sage helps promote mental alertness.”

Equally, sage’s affinity for the kidneys is evident in its ability to slow excessive urination (thereby reducing fluid loss) and assist in the reabsorption of blood from the kidneys back into the bloodstream. Herbalists also use sage as a nervine; as clinical herbalist Katja Swift says, “Sage is the perfect nervine for over-loaded, overwhelmed Type-A personalities."

Sage has also been used traditionally for colds and flu due to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory actions, making it helpful for soothing sore throats and tonsillitis. Sage’s tannin content tightens tissues, making those tissues more impervious to pathogens and infection, and as an expectorant, sage also helps to thin and expel phlegm from the lungs and dry up thin catarrh and sinuses. In febrile conditions, sage regulates the flow of fluids, operating as either a diaphoretic that promotes sweating or an antisudorific to inhibit excess sweating and loss of fluid.

And so the list goes on and on –

• It's a renowned support for hormone-related changes associated with perimenopause and menopause.
• It has longstanding traditional use in supporting oral health, and especially useful as a mouthwash.
• It supports the skin, soothing eczema, psoriasis and other chronic skin eruptions, as well as insect bites, poison ivy or poison oak exposure.
• Its essential oil makes for a great facial steam to balance oily complexions.
• Its bitterness serves to stimulate digestive secretions.
• It induces a relaxant effect on the smooth muscle of the digestive tract.
• It stimulates appetite.
• It’s used as a carminative to ease gas.
• Its volatile oils are extremely useful in treating worms.

We blend sage into our BiomeTonic intestinal support blend; as with oregano and rosemary, we use Sage for its awesome volatile oils which, with its bitters and antiseptic properties, protect the intestinal environment for the benefit of the gut biome.

Safety

• Sage is generally considered to be safe.
• Sage should be avoided during pregnancy, and because it is an antigalactagogue , sage should also be avoided during nursing.