ABSTRACT
The Middle East region is involved with complicated folk medicines and ethnobotany knowledge uniquely originated from the history of the territory going back to the ancient civilization. Above all, keeping the folkloric inherent learning from generation to generation, nowadays local people are still dependent on medicinal plants and their preparations in order to handle their primary care health needs. There are more than 1000 species of sage producing a variety of secondary metabolites including terpenoids, phytosterols, phenylpropanoid derivatives, and flavonoids. Due to the rich natural product diversity, Salvia plants have been considered traditionally in the Middle East countries playing an important role in common symptoms, for example gastrointestinal, respiratory, and infectious disorders, pain, and miscellaneous dysfunctions (liver diseases, diabetes, barrenness, and hemorrhage). Meanwhile, these plant species are one of the best-credited and well-recognized herbs that are used in a wide range of biological/pharmacological activities including antispasmodic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic as well as curing of nervous and mental diseases. In this chapter, the authors summarize the phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology uses, and biological effects of sage plants that are wildly grown in the Middle East.
