Effects of Cholinesterase Inhibiting Sage (Salvia officinalis) on Mood, Anxiety and Performance on a Psychological Stressor Battery

Abstract

Salvia officinalis (sage) has previously been shown both to possess in vitro cholinesterase inhibiting properties, and to enhance mnemonic performance and improve mood in healthy young participants. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, 30 healthy participants attended the laboratory on three separate days, 7 days apart, receiving a different treatment in counterbalanced order on each occasion (placebo, 300, 600 mg dried sage leaf). On each day mood was assessed predose and at 1 and 4 h postdose. Each mood assessment comprised completion of Bond-Lader mood scales and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and after 20 min performance of the Defined Intensity Stress Simulator (DISS) computerized multitasking battery. In a concomitant investigation, an extract of the sage leaf exhibited dose-dependent, in vitro inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and, to a greater extent, butyrylcholinesterase. Both doses of sage led to improved ratings of mood in the absence of the stressor (that is, in pre-DISS mood scores) postdose, with the lower dose reducing anxiety and the higher dose increasing 'alertness', 'calmness' and 'contentedness' on the Bond-Lader mood scales. The reduced anxiety effect following the lower dose was, however, abolished by performing the DISS, with the same dose also being associated with a reduction of alertness during performance. Task performance on the DISS battery was improved for the higher dose at both postdose sessions, but reduced for the lower dose at the later testing session. The results confirm previous observations of the cholinesterase inhibiting properties of S. officinalis, and improved mood and cognitive performance following the administration of single doses to healthy young participants.

Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics, Regulatory Challenges

“…Even common, traditional and unregulated herbs and spices such as sage can improve memory and mood through chemical effects (Kennedy et al 2006). While less powerful than those of dedicated cholinesterase inhibitors, such effects illustrate that attempts to control access to cognition-enhancing substances would be problematic.…”

The Multitasking Framework: The Effects of Increasing Workload on Acute Psychobiological Stress Reactivity

“…The focus of these studies, however, has been to assess the efficacy of non-pharmaceuticals as potential anxiolytics. That is, they have compared performance on and reactivity to the framework following acute administration of Melissa officinalis (Kennedy, Little, & Scholey, 2004), Salvia officinalis (Kennedy, Little et al, 2006), Valeriana officinalis (Kennedy, Pace et al, 2006), chewing gum (Scholey et al, 2009;Johnson, Jenks, Miles, Albert, & Cox, 2011) and multi-vitamin supplements (Haskell et al, 2010), with responses following a placebo administration. The placebo/control arms of the studies typically demonstrate consistent effects of multitasking stress on mood, specifically, increased reports in feelings of alertness and state anxiety and reductions in feelings of calmness and contentment.…”

Improving the oral bioavailability of beneficial polyphenols through designed synergies

“…Many functional foods are now available which were designed in this way, but few have been subjected to rigorous clinical trials and many are sold on the basis of in vitro evidence only. For example, within the arena of functional foods that affect mood, true clinical efficacy has only been shown for a handful of plant extracts, including kava kava for anxiety [64] and Salvia officinalis for improving mood and cognitive performance [34,77].…”