Chemical Constituents of Desert Sage

From what I have been able to determine, most of the research on the chemical properties of desert sage has been done to find its effect on the digestive systems of mammals who browse on it. However, there is some scientific research relating to humans. The key medicinal components of desert sage are:

Bitter principles

Flavonoids

Tannins

Silica

Antibiotic polyacetylenes

Inulin

Hydroxycoumarins

Volatile oils

The volatile oils continue to be an area of great interest in the healing arts, and I will deal with these in more detail. “ Monoterpenoids are the major constituents of essential or volatile oils in big sagebrush....Over 1000 monoterpenoids, many from higher plants, have been isolated and identified. The monoterpenoids of big sagebrush are a mixture of various esters, ethers, aldehydes, alcohols and ketones. Thus far, 33 individual monoterpenoids (see list below) have been isolated from the tissues of big sagebrush. (The reader should not infer that a given big sagebrush plant population within subspecies will contain all monoterpenoids listed.) Various studies have reported that individual monoterpenoids isolated from big sagebrush plants varied from 7 to 17, making the composition of monoterpenoids in big sagebrush tissue among the most complex in the plant kingdom.”

MONOTERPENOIDS

Artemisia acetate

Artemisia alcohol

Artemisia ketone

Artemisol

Artemiseole

Arthole

Borneol

Camphene

Camphor

Carene

Carvacrol

1,8-Cineole

Cymene

Fenchone

Frenchyl alcohol

Menthol

Methyl santolinate

Myrcene

Ocimene

Ocimeone

Phellandrene

a-Pinene

b-Pinene

Sabinene

Santolina expoxide

Santolina triene

Terpinene

Terpinen-4-ol

Terpineol

a-Thujone

b-Thujone

Thujyl alcohol

Yomogi alcohol (12)

“It is known that monoterpenoids have bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties. Microbiologists have investigated these compounds in determining their usefulness as prophylactic agents. With the discovery of antibiotics, the interest in using monoterpenoids to prevent or ward off bacterial infections died.” (13)

Sesquiterpenoids have also received attention from researchers looking for biologically active compounds to be used as medicines. They are “15 carbon unit compounds that form the largest class of terpenoids and commonly occur with the monoterpenoids in essential oils, but in lower concentrations. ...These compounds are responsible for a number of biological, ecological and pharmacological activities including antimicrobial properties, growth regulators, insect hormones, insect pheromones, phytoalexins, antioxidants, organoleptic properties, antitumour, antiinflammatories, anrihyperlipidemic properties, antiulcer, expectorant, sedative, analgesic properties, allelopathy, antifeedant, and so forth.... To date 24 sesquiterpenoid lactones have been isolated and identified from big sagebrush.” (14), as listed below.

SESQUITERPENOIDS

Arbusculin-A

Arbusculin-B

Arbusculin-C

Artevasin

Badgerin

Deacetoxymatricarin

Deacetyllaurenobiolide

Deacetylmatricarin

Dehydroleucodin

Dentatin-A

Dentatin-B

Isophotosantonic lactone

Parishin-A

Parishin-B

Parishin-C

Ridentin

Rothin-A

Rothin-B

Spiciformin

Tatridin-A

Tatridin-B

Tatridin-C

W-A

W-B (15)

“The biological and ecological significance of these (sesquiterpenoid lactone) compounds of big sagebrush has not been determined. However, Kelsey and Shafizadeh (1979) concluded that the chemical data from sesquiterpenoid lactone studies suggest that big sagebrush developed from a North American ancestral line rather than Old World lines.” (16) This would suggest that Artemisia tridentata , the “American Wormwood” developed independently and was not brought over from Europe or Asia by migrant people.

Other active constituents of desert sage fall under the category of phenolic compounds. “The basic structural unit of phenolic compounds is an aromatic ring (a ring of six carbons with three double bonds) to which a hydroxyl group is attached (-OH).

From this simple structure a large and chemically diverse family of chemicals arises that are universally present in plants and in all plant parts. ... Although they represent the most studied of secondary metabolites, the function of many phenolic compounds is still unknown. They range from simple phenolic acids to large and complex polymers such as tannins and lignin; also included in this family of compounds are flavonoids and coumarins. All are products via the shikimic acid pathway.” (17) The following list is representative of some of the coumarins and flavonoids that have been isolated from desert sage. Not all specimens of desert sage will contain all of the compounds.

COUMARINS

Aesculetin

Aesculin

Artelin

Cichoriin

Esculetin

Esculin

Isoscopoletin

Methylaesculin

Methylesculin

Scoparon

Scoparone

Scopoletin

Skimmin

Umbelliferone

FLAVONOIDS

Apigenin-7-0-glucoside

Axillarin

Cupafolin

Eupafolin

Kaempferol

Luteolin

Luteolin-7-glucoside

Penduletin

Quercetagetin

Quercetin (18)