MOSCOW, 1 November. /TASS/. Researchers from the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU) as part of an international group have discovered that the use of selenium in cultivating sage stimulates its growth and also improves its medicinal properties, the university's press service reported.

"Our study shows that the addition of selenium can improve the medicinal and nutritional properties of sage. Concurrently, organic and inorganic forms of selenium had different effects on plant growth and physiology. The results obtained will make it possible to select the optimal form of selenium, increase the yield and improve the qualities of sage", head of the project Lyubov Skrypnik was quoted as saying.

According to the press service, the scientists sprayed water solutions containing organic (amino acids selenium-methionine and selenium-cysteine) and inorganic (selenate and selenite) forms of selenium on the plants for six weeks, which resulted in a 67% increase in the rate of photosynthesis. "The study showed that organic forms of selenium increased plant weight by 65% and the number of leaves by 25% compared to the control group (untreated plants).

Inorganic forms increased these parameters by 20.5% and 9% respectively. At the same time, when both inorganic and organic forms of selenium were used, the content of this element in the plant exceeded the control value by at least 30 times," the report says.

The amount of glucose, sucrose and total sugars increased by 20-40%. Amino acid and protein levels increased in plants treated with an aqueous solution containing organic forms of selenium. The researchers found that selenium treatment increased the antioxidant activity of sage leaves.

The study, supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RNF), involved scientists from the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), the Federal Scientific Centre for Vegetable Production(Moscow), the Iasi University of Life Sciences (Romania) and University of Naples Federico II (Italy). Their findings are published in Scientia Horticulturae.

About the herb

Medicinal sage is included in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation and is used in the form of decoction or tincture, as well as part of complex remedies with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

According to the press service, at the moment sage, as well as other medicinal plants, is not grown in Kaliningrad region on a commercial scale, but "this direction is promising, and, when discussing the issue of growing sage, regional agricultural enterprises engaged in the cultivation of plants expressed their interest in the development of this direction", the press release stated.

Research is being carried out to increase the yield and resistance of sage to negative factors such as drought, low and high temperatures, heavy metals, as well as to make sage more nutritious.