Abstract
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is one of the aromatics and medicinals having biological activities and pharmacological properties. The possible protective role and antioxidant activity of sage water extract (SWE) against metabolic disorders induced by hypercholesterolemic diet (HCD) in the heart and testis tissues of rats were evaluated in this study. The results of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed that Camphor, 1,8-cineole and alpha-thujone represent the main compounds of volatile oil extracted from S. officinalis. The findings of the biological study showed that the dietary intake of HCD significantly increased serum lipid contents, activities of cardiac marker enzymes and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in testes and heart tissues, and significantly reduced the level of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and leutinizing hormone (LH) with suppression of antioxidant status compared to the controlled rats. Whereas, supplementation of rats with HCD along with SWE (1 ml/Kg B. wt) reduced the damaging effects induced by HCD with a significant decrease in hypercholesterolemic state, reduction of lipid peroxidation, induction of heart and testes functions and elevation of the activity of antioxidant enzymes and glutathione contents. In conclusion, this study showed that SWE could be used as natural anti-oxidants supplements due to the presence of essential oil, phenolic contents and other antioxidant components in Sage.