Salvia plants are a rich source of polyphenol compounds, containing over 160 identified polyphenols, including a range of phenolic acids and flavonoids. These phenolic compounds include caffeic acid and its derivatives, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acids, sage-coumarin, lithospermic acids, sagernic acid, and yunnaneic acids. The most common flavonoids include luteolin, apigenin, hispidulin, kaempferol, and quercetin. Salvia Miltiorrhiza has been shown to protect mice from antibody-induced neurotoxicity by inhibiting increases in Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Tanshinones derived from Salvia Miltiorrhiza may also provide protection against antibody-induced toxicity by improving mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), matrix metalloproteinase 2, and nuclear transcription factor-j. In mice exposed to an acute antibody injection, rosmarinic acid also prevented antibody-induced protein nitration (an indirect indicator of peroxynitrite damage) in the hippocampus. Rosmarinic acid also prevented memory impairments caused by antibody toxicity. Protective effects were also observed on antibody toxicity after administration of Salvia components, salvianolic acid, carnosic acid, and quercetin. In vitro and animal studies have revealed that several Salvia species and their components are effective AChE inhibitors. An aqueous extract of Salvia Officinalis reduced AChE activity in mice, and in vitro analyses revealed that ethanolic extracts of S. officinalis reduced AChE and had greater effects on butyrylcholinesterase. The active components in several Salvia species, rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, and quercetin, can also inhibit AChE activity. In one study, administration of Salvia Miltiorrhiza to mice alleviated antibody-induced reductions in BDNF. Rosmarinic acid also provides protection against memory deficits induced by cerebral artery occlusion in mice.

PUBLICATIONS ON THE SUBJECT:

** Drugs R D. 2017 Mar;17(1):53-64.doi: 10.1007/s40268-016-0157-5.

Salvia (Sage): A Review of its Potential Cognitive-Enhancing and Protective Effects

** CNS Neurosci Ther. 2014 Jun;20(6):485-95.doi: 10.1111/cns.12270. Epub 2014 Apr 10.

Systematic review of clinical trials assessing pharmacological properties of Salvia species on memory, cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

** Front Neurosci. 2022 Jun 28;16:909833.doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.909833. eCollection 2022.

Neuroprotective Potential of Aromatic Herbs: Rosemary, Sage, and Lavender

** Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Sep 21;11(10):1865.doi: 10.3390/antiox11101865.

Ethnomedicinal Plants with Protective Effects against Beta-Amyloid Peptide (Aβ)1-42 Indicate Therapeutic Potential in a New In Vivo Model of Alzheimer's Disease