Clary sage is an important plant belongs to salvia genus and extensively used as a spice. It also used for medical purposes. It is basically considered as an imperative herb, which is native to the Mediterranean Basin (northern). All parts of the plant can be used such as its stems, leaves, flowers and seeds. Clary sage oil is an essential oil extracted from the plant through steam distillation method. Clary sage oil is well known for its soothing, calming and relaxing property and widely used for preventing stress and anxiety.

Characteristics

• It is liquid in room temperature
• It is colorless
• It has a characteristic floral and fruity odor
• It has a sweet and acrid taste
• It is generally insoluble in water but can solubilize if heated at 25°C
• It is completely soluble in alcoholic solvent

Nutritional profile

• It contains fatty acids
• It contains various micronutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, magnesium, copper and zinc
• It is packed with several biologically active components such as linalyl acetate, linalool, neryl acetate, caryophyllene, geraniol, sclareol, a-terpineol and germacrene D
• Linalyl acetate and linalool are considered as the principle components of Clary sage oil, which are responsible for exerting calming and relaxing effects

Health benefits

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities

• Antioxidant activity of Clary sage oil is related with reducing oxidative stress of the body by decreasing the concentration of free radicals
• It helps to spare several important biological components of body (like lipid, proteins, DNA, RNA) from oxidation
• It also helps to reduce the prevalence of carcinoma. It has seen that Clary sage oil significantly reduces the risk of leukemia. Sclareol component of Clary sage essential oil is the principal component responsible for destroying malignant cell by enhancing apoptosis
• Its anti-inflammatory activities are related with reducing inflammation, pain and stress

Antimicrobial activities

• It helps to prevent the growth and reproduction of bacteria and fungus within host
• It also helps to inhibit the spreading of microbial infections by inhibiting their entry within body and by inhibiting their transmission
• It also has antiseptic property that helps to prevent the prevalence of infectious diseases and spreading of germs

Role on labor

• It is associated with stimulating the contraction of uterus (smooth muscle) that helps to induce labor
• It has seen that it helps to reduce the level of adrenaline (due to its sedative effects), during parturition that helps to increase oxytocin production, which also stimulates uterine contraction. Oxytocin furthermore helps in milk ejection that approaches lactation after delivery

• The sedative effects of Clary sage oil also help to reduce the pain of labor

Role on mental health

• It has seen that Clary sage oil has a strong soothing and relaxing effects that help to calm the body and reduces anxiety and stress
• It has significant role on reducing tension as well as panic
• It also helps to prevent insomnia as it has potent sedative effects that facilitate healthy sleeping. Main cause of insomnia is considered as hormonal changes and stress. Clary sage oil plays important role on reducing stress as well as helps in regulating hormonal balance that also act as a preventive measure for insomnia
• It is related with exerting refreshing effect that helps to enhance mood

Role on preventing depression

• It acts as an effective natural antidepressant that helps to prevent depression
• It has seen that inhalation of Clary sage oil is related with decreasing the concentration of cortisol (stress hormone) within body, which helps the body to deal with stress condition

Role on cardiovascular health

• Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Clary sage oil have cardio protective activity
• It is associated with reducing cholesterol concentration naturally. Especially it helps to reduce the level of LDL and hence reduces the prevalence of atherosclerosis

• It also helps to reduce the susceptibility of developing cardiac inflammatory events and thus helps to prevent the risk of ischemic heart diseases, thrombosis, coronary artery disease and myocardial infraction
• It is closely related with reducing hypertension as it helps to provide a relaxing effect to arteries and brain. It has seen that it significantly reduces systolic pressure
• It also helps to open blood vessels, which is associated with increasing blood flow. It has seen that proper blood circulation is related with supplying sufficient oxygen and nutrients to every cell of the body, which facilitates cellular oxidation and metabolism

Role on preventing menstrual discomfort

• It helps to regulate the menstruation cycle by balancing the level of hormones involved in menstrual cycle
• Its antispasmodic effect and anti-inflammatory activities are responsible for reducing menstrual cramp
• It is also associated with reducing premenstrual syndrome
• It basically helps to balance the estrogen level within body and prevents various diseases related with hyperactivity of estrogen such as estrogen related cancers, polycystic ovarian syndromes

Role on post-menopausal phase

• It has seen that Clary sage oil has similar effect with estrogen hormone as it contains phytoestrogen
• Usage of Clary sage oil is beneficial for decreasing the symptoms of menopause and also helps to regulate the hormonal balance within body that prevents the susceptibility of developing hormonal imbalance

• It also helps to promote the health of uterus and reduces the prevalence of ovarian and uterine cancers

Therapeutic usages

• It is used as an active anticonvulsive agent as it helps to exert a calming effect and prevents hyperactivity within brain cells. It also helps to reduce excessive firing of neurons during seizures and prevents the spreading out of seizures within brain
• It is also used as a strong antispasmodic agent, which helps to relax the smooth muscle and reduces cramp or spasm
• It has aphrodisiac activity, which is associated with arousing sexual desires in both genders
• It has carminative effects that help to reduce the prevalence of gas formation within digestive tract. It also helps in intestinal gaseous expulsion, which helps to reduces the risk of developing flatulence
• It is well utilized as an effective uterine tonic as it acts as emmenagogue. It is associated with stimulating blood flow in uterus and pelvic area, which facilitates menstruation. It is better to be used by those women, who have delayed menstruation
• It acts as nervine, which helps to calming down the limbic and nervous system during stress and helps to reduce anxiousness
• It is also used as a stomachic agent that helps to promote appetite as well as enhances digestion

Applications of Clary sage oil

• It can be used as flavoring agent
• It can be applied to inflamed area for reducing pain
• It can be added with bath water to improve mood
• It can be applied to wounded or injured area for rapid healing as it has antiseptic and anesthetic activities

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Geethanjali, S., 2019. Efficacy of Clary Sage Oil on Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS): A Controlled Trial (Doctoral dissertation, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Chennai).

Gülçin, I., UĞUZ, M.T., Oktay, M., Beydemir, Ş. and KÜFREVİOĞLU, Ö.İ., 2004. Evaluation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of clary sage (Salvia sclarea L.). Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 28(1), pp.25-33.

Mahboubi, M., 2020. Clary sage essential oil and its biological activities. Advances in Traditional Medicine, pp.1-12.

Mitic, M., Zrnić, A., Wanner, J. and Stappen, I., 2020. Clary Sage Essential Oil and Its Effect on Human Mood and Pulse Rate: An in vivo Pilot Study. Planta Medica.

Tadokoro, Y., Horiuchi, S., Takahata, K., Shuo, T., Sawano, E. and Shinohara, K., 2017. Changes in salivary oxytocin after inhalation of clary sage essential oil scent in term-pregnant women: a feasibility pilot study. BMC research notes, 10(1), pp.1-7.