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Sage In Ojibwe Essay

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Sage has been a part of Ojibwe culture for thousands of years. Sage is one the four main medicines in Ojibwe culture along with tobacco, cedar, and sweet grass. In most Ojibwe ceremonies, sage is used in the beginning of the ceremony to smudge the people attending the ceremony. When sage is burned, the smoke is used to cleanse the body and mind. For the hands, the sage cleanses what is touched. Sage cleanses the ears so we can hear all things in a good way. It cleanses out the mind so we can think good things with nothing negative. Traditionally, sage is used for headaches and helps with allergies. Sage can also be mixed with other medicines into teas to help with indigestion, menstrual cycle ailments, sore throats, boasts the immune system, and help with skin conditions. The genus name of sage is Salvia. Sage is the largest member of the mint family containing over 900 species. There are more uses of Sage rather than how it was used for traditional purposes and traditional healings. When the oils of Sage is extracted, that oil can help with the nervous system, heart and blood circulation, and the digestive …show more content…

An example of those are carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid, possessing strong antioxidant, radical-scavenging, and antibacterial activities. The majority of the phenolic acids in Sage species are derivatives of caffeic acid which is the building block of a variety of plant metabolites. Caffeic acid plays a central role in the biochemistry of the Lamiaceae plants, and occurs mainly in a dimer form as rosmarinic acid. Carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, which are present at high concentrations in the extract of Sage plants, have shown strong antioxidant properties. Ursolic acid, also a component of sage, has strong anti-inflammatory properties, and in sage preparations, it is considered as a quality control measurement for the anti-inflammatory effects of different

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