Salvia plants belong to the Lamiaceae family and are recognized as being strongly aromatic,
being widely used for different purposes in culinary or traditional medicine. These plants are
well recognized as being rich in phenolic acids, flavonoids and terpenic compounds, which exhibit
health-beneficial activities, protecting against oxidative and inflammatory-related diseases, such as
diabetes and obesity. Because of these properties, phytochemicals from Salvia species have been
investigated as health promoting agents, for application in distinct fields. However, the growing
demand for natural products with possible uses and applications in industry requires scientific
validation studies. This review consists of a compilation of relevant studies with an emphasis on the
antioxidant, antidiabetic and anti-obesity properties of phenolic-rich extracts from Salvia plants.
The Science and Technology Foundation/Ministry of Education and Science (FCT/MEC)
funded the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV) of the Network of Chemistry
and Technology (REQUIMTE) (UIDB/50006/2020) and CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), through national
funds and, where applicable, co-financed by FEDER, Portugal 2020. Project PTDC/BAA-AGR/
31015/2017 (Algaphlor) financed the research contract of Susana M. Cardoso.
