ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Sage (Salvia species) has been used as a herb with beneficial healing properties for mil lennia. The name itself comes from the Latin word for health (salvare or heal). Ancient authors called it elelisphakon. This term most likely refers to several species, such as Salvia fruticosa Mill., Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia pomifera L. (Rivera et al., 1994). A tenth century Salerno School called it Salvia salviatrix, whereas the Spanish call it ierba buena or “good herb”. Both terms admire feats attributed to sage. A proverb assures us, that a man who has sage in his garden needs no doctor. Sage became very popular also in China in the eighteenth century where the merchants would exchange two crates of best tea for a crate of sage (ToussaintSamat, 1996).
