Metabolic impairments and tissue disorders in alloxan-induced diabetic rats are alleviated by Salvia officinalis L. essential oil

[Display omitted] •Sage essential oil (EO) significantly inhibited in vitro α-amylase and lipase activities.•Sage EO inhibited α-amylase and lipase activities in vivo at a dose 2.5 μL per diabetic rat.•Sage EO remarkably reduced glycemia and increased glycogen storage in treated diabetic rats.•Sage EO significantly lowered the ALT, AST and LDH activities after treatment of diabetic rats.•Sections of liver, kidney and pancreas confirmed that the tested dose of Sage EO had no toxic effects. The current research explored for the first time the effect of Salvia officinalis L. (Sage) essential oil (EO) on Alloxan-induced diabetes in male Wistar rats. Sage EO was extracted by a Clevenger apparatus and analyzed by GC-FID and GC–MS. The most important chemical families identified in this oil were oxygenated monoterpenes (56.32%), hydrocarbon monoterpenes (15.00%) and hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes (14.70%). All treatments were administered orally. In vitro investigation showed that the EO had α-amylase and lipase inhibitory activities with IC50 = 38 μg/mL and IC50 = 52 μg/mL, respectively. In vivo experiments highlighted that the activities of serum α-amylase and lipase were reduced by 46.6% and 32.1%, respectively. Sage EO reduced glycemia by 60% and the level of glycogen stored in the liver by 43.7%. Treatments of diabetes with Sage EO significantly protected the liver function by lowering serum AST (35%), ALT (79%) and LDH (43%) activities. Furthermore, Sage EO was efficient to preserve the kidney function in diabetes by reverting back serum creatinine (47%) and UA (62.5%) concentrations to control values. The obtained results altogether evidenced that Sage EO had hypoglycemic and anti-obesity effects and could be a valuable complement in future diabetes therapy.