Wierd article. Wheres the actual source on the science?
The paper
she quotes actually says nothing with sage but other plants instead.
Quote:"We have observed that 1h treatment of medicinal smoke emanated by burning wood and a mixture of odoriferous and medicinal herbs (havan sámagri=material used in oblation to fire all over India), on aerial bacterial population caused over 94% reduction of bacterial counts by 60 min"
Now what that havan sámagri is a big mix of things
According to the paper its
Quote:Impact of medicinal smoke on aerial bacteria by burning wood and a complex mixture of odoriferous and medicinal herbs (havan sámagri = material used in oblation to fire all over India) obtained from Gurukul Kangri Pharmacy, Haridwar, UA, India, without any rituals and mantras, was studied in an indoor environment. Mixture consisted of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. (Rutaceae) wood; Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd. (Zingiberaceae) rhizome; Aquilana malaccensis Lam. (Thymelaeaceae) wood; Aquilana agallocha Roxb. (Thymelaeaceae) wood; Azadirachta indica A. juss (Maliaceae) wood; Butea frondosa Koen. ex Roxb. (Fabaceae) whole plant; Cedrus deodara (Roxb. Ex D. Don) G. Don f. (Pinaceae) rhizome; Cedrus libani Loud. (Pinaceae) bark; Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae) fruit; Cocos nucifera L. (Palmae) husk fiber; Commiphora mukul Engl. (Burseraceae) gum resin, Cyperus scariosus R. Br. (Cyperaceae) root; Ervatamia divaricata (L.) Burkill (Apocynaceae) whole plant; Euryale ferox Salisb (Nymphocaceae) whole plant; Ficus bengalensis L. (Moraceae) whole plant; Ficus glomerata Linn. (Moraceae) bark and leaf; Ficus religiosa L. (Moraceae) bark and stem, Mangifera indica Linn. (Anacardiaceae) leaf and wood; Peganum harmala L. (Zygophyllaceae) fruit; Pistacia vera L. (Anacardiaceae) fruit; Prosopis spicigera L. (Mimoseae) leaf; Prunus dulcis (P. Mill.) D.A. Webber (Rosaceae) fruit; Santalum album L. (Santalaceae) wood; Sesamum indicum L. (Pedaliaceae) seed; Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill and Perry (Myrtaceae) bud; Valeriana wallichii DC. (Valerianaceae) root; Vitis vinifera L. (Vitaceae) fruit and seed; Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Solanaceae) root and Zanthoxylum armatum DC. (Rutaceae) fruit and seed. Odoriferous substances consists of Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae) stigma; Mimulus moschatus (Scrophulariaceae) flower, Gelidium amansii f. elegans (Kützing) Okamura (N.O. Algae) thallus; Tabernaemontana divaricata (L.) R. Br ex Roem et Schult. (Apocynaceae) root; Santalum album L. (Santalaceae) wood; Elettaria cardamomum Maton. (Zingiberaceae) fruit; Pelargonium fragrans Willd. (Geraniaceae) whole plant; Myristica fragrans Houtt. (Myristicaceae) fruit; Cinnamomum camphora Sieb (Lauraceae) leaf and Cinnamomum macrocarpum Hook. f. (Lauraceae) leaf; substances with healing properties: clarified butter (ghee), milk, fruit, Linum perenne L. (Linaceae) seed, and cereals like Triticum vulgare Vill. (Poaceae) seed; Oryza sativa L. (Poaceae) seed; Hordeum vulgare L. (Poaceae) seed and legumes like Panicum decompositum R. Br. (Gramineae) seed; Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper (Fabaceae) seed; Pisum sativum L. (Fabaceae) seed; Sweet substances: sugar, dried dates, resin, honey, etc; some commonly used herbs are Tinospora cordifolia Miers (Meninspermaceae) leaf; Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell (Scrophulariaceae) leaf; Convolvulus pluricaulis (L.) Choisy (Convolvulaceae) whole plant; Mesua ferrea L. (Guttiferae) leaf; Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Leguminosae) rhizome; Terminalia bellirica (Gaertner) Roxb. (Combretaceae) fruit; dry Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae) rhizome and Terminalia chebula Retzius (Combretaceae) fruit (Acharya, 2001; Mohagheghzadeh et al., 2006).
Now the thing is what exactly has the cleaning powers or is it just the smoke.
Afterall fire and smoke can desinfect stuff that is known. The last part is the most interesting i find.