Salvia is a large group of plants that belong to the Lamiaceae or mint family of plants. As with many other mint family plants, sage plants have been shown to possess mood elevating effects. Salvia officinalis, or common sage, has been shown to possess anxiolytic effects in animals, and this may relate to the neuroprotective effects it possesses. For example, in one study, researchers investigated the antioxidant effects of sage extracts and observed significant antioxidant effects. These antioxidant effets confered significant neurotrpective effects in isolated rat brain tissue, suggesting that sage extracts may be neuroprotective. In another study, researchers investigated the effects of sage extracts in healthy human subjects. The results of this study showed that the sage extracts were significantly effective at enhancing secondary memory functions in the subjects at a single dose of 333 mg. Other doses also produced significant improvements but the 33 mg dose was the most effective in the tests used by these subjects.
Diets high in plants are diets high in antioxidant phytonutrients. Plants produce antioxidants as part of their own metabolic needs, and when we consume the plants we absorb the antioxidants and distribute them to our own tissues. These antioxidants then play important roles in cellular health, including neuroprotective effects in brain tissue. Sage appears to possess antioxidant phytonutrients that are highly neuroprotective and these phytonutrients may also improve memory function.
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