ABSTRACT
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a medical and aromatic plant characterized as a bushy evergreen subshrub with woody stems, green-grayish leaves, and violet-blueish flowers; it is distributed widely in many countries and is mainly cultivated for its leaves and for producing essential oils used in traditional medicine for treating several health disorders such as heart, nerve-related, hypotensive, and respiratory disorders. S. officinalis has dense phytochemical constituents comprising more than 200 components; the most reported were alkaloids, glycosidic derivatives, phenolic compounds, polyacetylenes, steroids, and terpenes or terpenoids. S. officinalis have been demonstrated to exert strong health-promoting activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-tumor, anti-diarrheal and antidiabetic activities. S. officinalis could promote significant antidiabetic effects by maintaining homeostasis of glucose, insulin, and cholesterol levels. In addition, S. officinalis was shown to prevent or combat diabetic complications such as liver and kidney disorders and oxidative damage. Furthermore, S. officinalis was shown in vitro to play roles in major pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development and progression of diabetes; for example, it could promote inhibitory effects on key digestive enzymes (e.g., α-amylase, α-glucosidase, glucokinase, glucose 6-phosphatase, and lipase), play roles in activating and upregulating some singling pathways, and promote anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This chapter highlights the role of S. officinalis in promoting antidiabetic activities and its potential mechanism of action against diabetes.
