Clary sage, which is also known as “Salvia sclarea” is a type of flowering herb that’s mostly found in the Mediterranean Basin. The plant is popular for its oil; the clary sage essential oil which is extracted from both the leaves and buds of the plant. This oil has a pleasant fragrance and can either be used as a skin balm or sniffed as part of an aromatherapy treatment.
Clary sage is easy to cultivate in high-temperature areas. It is mostly grown to be used as a flavouring in tea. People also call it names like ‘eye bright’ and ‘clear eye’ due to its traditional use as a cure for eye problems. There are so many other health benefits that can be gotten from the clary sage. Let’s take a look at some of them.
- It Reduces Stress
Aromatherapy is the practice of using selected scents to calm a person’s mind, alter their mood, and reduce feelings of anxiety. The olfactory system in our bodies directly impacts the part of our brain that regulates emotion. That explains why the things you smell can make you nostalgic and evoke feelings, both good and bad.
When clary sage oil is administered in aromatherapy, it reduces anxiety by inducing a sense of comfort and happiness. A small study recently carried out on women undergoing a difficult medical test revealed that when inhaled, clary sage essential oil evoked feelings of calmness and lowered blood pressure.
- It Has Antibacterial Properties
You may be able to create an antiseptic (for some strains of bacteria) by diluting the clary sage oil. Researchers have suggested that the clary sage oil could be used – alone or combined with certain traditional medicines – to treat wounds.
A recent laboratory study shows that clary sage oil was able to cure severe dermatological diseases caused by multiple strains of Staphylococcus bacteria. While carrying out this study, the laboratory used swabs gotten from the bacterial infection of 61 people. Each of these 61 persons had a fatal wound that wasn’t responding to antibiotic treatment. Most of the wounds were caused by diabetes, burns and poor surgical procedures. After careful observation, diluted clary sage oil was discovered to be effective against multiple bacterial strains.
- It Is A Natural Antidepressant
Series of test have been conducted on both animals and humans to determine how effective clary sage can be, when used as an antidepressant.
A study conducted on rats revealed that clary sage oil could help reduce feelings of depression by acting as an anti-depressor.
Another study conducted on menopausal women shows that when inhaled, clary sage essential oil can reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, and also produce an antidepressant-like effect.
- It Reduces Menstrual Cramps
Recently, a study was conducted on 48 women who regularly experienced painful menstruation and cramps. A certain number of the women were handed a cream containing clary sage oil and some other essential oils to rub on their lower abdomens everyday, between menstrual cycles. After sometime, the women who applied the cream on their abdomen experienced a more significant reduction in menstrual cramps than the control group.
