White Sage
White Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana)
Artemisia ludoviciana is also known as White Sagebrush, Grey Sagewort, Western Mugwort, Louisiana Wormwood, and Silver Wormwood. White Sage is native to North America and found throughout Canada, the US, and Mexico. It can grow 1–3 feet tall with thin, spear-shaped leaves up to 4 inches long. Both leaves and stems are covered in fine white to gray hairs, from which the name derives.
Historical Use
White Sage is native only to the Western Hemisphere; historical information relies on ethnographic writings about its wide usage by Native Americans for a variety of purposes. The fibers of the plant were used for cordage and weaving, for paintbrushes, and reportedly to flavor food (Hart, 1992). White Sage was also rubbed on the skin or stuffed into shoes or saddles as a deodorant (Hellson, 1974). Used for ceremonial purposes by many tribes, the plant was most often associated with cleansing or purification rituals (Hart, 1992). Additionally, White Sage was burned to keep away mosquitoes, to ritually clean a person or site, and during sweat lodge ceremonies. Medicinally, White Sage was used as snuff to help with sinus congestion, nosebleeds, or headache (Hart, 1992).
Current Use
White Sage is often grown as an ornamental plant in yards and gardens, as it is a hardy perennial. It is still often used in traditional ways, but there has been increasing research on medicinal uses of Artemisia ludoviciana. Studies have shown that extracts from the plant have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties (Lopes-Lutz, Alviano, Alviano, & Kolodziejczyk, 2008). Other studies have suggested antifungal properties (McCutcheon, Ellis, Hancock, & Towers, 1994). Additionally, essential oils from White Sage have been investigated for potential use in pain relief(Anaya-Eugenio, Rivero-Cruz, Bye, Linares, & Mata, 2016).
Latest Research
- Micropropagation and Phytochemical Characterization of Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt.: Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Profiles
by José Miguel Fernández-Cortés on December 31, 2025 at 11:00 amArtemisia ludoviciana Nutt. is an important aromatic plant widely used in traditional Mexican medicine for its therapeutic potential. Its medicinal activity is attributed to a wide range of bioactive compounds, including flavonoids. However, overexploitation, habitat loss, climate change and plant diseases threaten its natural populations and diversity. Although the species reproduces both sexually and asexually, conventional propagation methods are often slow, limited by environmental factors,…
- Encapsulation and Digestive Evaluation of Infusion Extracts from Semi-Desert Mexican Plants: Phytochemical Profiling and Bioactivitiesby Antonio Julián-Flores on November 27, 2025 at 11:00 am
Medicinal plants are widely used in traditional medicine because of their bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. The semidesert Mexican species Flourensia cernua, Artemisia ludoviciana, and Phoradendron californicum have been traditionally employed as infusions for gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, chemical composition, infusion extraction, phytochemical profiling, antioxidant capacity, and antiparasitic and antibacterial activity were evaluated. The extracts were characterized…
- Biophysical and structural modifications on human erythrocytes induced by ethanolic extracts of Ruta graveolens, Artemisia ludoviciana, and Lippia graveolens: a study by ATR-FTIR spectroscopyby Emmanuel de la O-Cuevas on October 20, 2025 at 10:00 am
By using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and spectral deconvolution analysis, biophysical and structural modifications induced by ethanolic extracts of Rutta graveolens, Artemisia ludoviciana, and Lippia graveolens (commonly used as medicinal plants) on human erythrocytes were investigated. The extracts were directly applied to the human erythrocytes. Their effects were analysed in relevant spectral regions, including the lipid and phospholipid vibration region (3010-2800 cm^(-1)), the carbonyl (C[double…
- Adventitious and Hairy Root Cultures of Salvia apiana as a Source of Rosmarinic Acidby Agata Krol on April 17, 2025 at 10:00 am
For the first time, adventitious and hairy root cultures of Salvia apiana (white sage) have been established and analyzed for the content of secondary metabolites. Non-transformed roots derived from sterile seedlings were maintained on a full-strength IBA-supplemented SH medium. Adventitious roots yielded up to 44.5 mg/g and 18.7 mg/g DW rosmarinic acid when grown in shake flasks and immersion-column bioreactors, respectively. Transformed root cultures were established from S. apiana…
- Antibacterial Essential Oils as Adjuvants to Inhibit Antibiotic Resistance in Multidrug-resistant Bacteriaby Rafael Torres-Martínez on April 10, 2025 at 10:00 am
In order to contribute to the fight against the antibiotic resistance crisis, we used a dual-activity prospection strategy for natural product mixtures with antibiotic resistance modulating and antibacterial activities in the essential oils (EOs) of Artemisia ludoviciana, Lippia graveolens, and Cosmos bipinnatus against multidrug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa HIM-MR01, Staphylococcus aureus HIM-MR02, Enterococcus faecalis HIM-MR05, and Salmonella typhi HIM-MR06. The three EOs…
References
Anaya-Eugenio, G. D., Rivero-Cruz, I., Bye, R., Linares, E., & Mata, R. (2016). Antinociceptive activity of the essential oil from Artemisia ludoviciana. J Ethnopharmacol, 179, 403-411. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2016.01.008
Hart, J. (1992). Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples. Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society Press.
Hellson, J. C. (1974). Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians. Ottowa: National Museums of Canada.
Lopes-Lutz, D., Alviano, D. S., Alviano, C. S., & Kolodziejczyk, P. P. (2008). Screening of chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Artemisia essential oils. Phytochemistry, 69(8), 1732-1738. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.02.014
McCutcheon, A. R., Ellis, S. M., Hancock, R. E., & Towers, G. H. (1994). Antifungal screening of medicinal plants of British Columbian native peoples. J Ethnopharmacol, 44(3), 157-169. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(94)01183-4