Life cycle assessment of <i>Salvia officinalis</i> L. under Mediterranean conditions: An integrated agronomic and process-based approach

This study presented a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Salvia officinalis L., integrating agronomic data, irrigation modeling, and industrial extraction simulation into a unified analytical framework.The primary objective was to quantify environmental impacts, energy consumption, and process efficiency across the entire life cyclefrom cultivation and harvesting to processing, utilization, and final disposal under representative Mediterranean conditions.To achieve this, experimental data obtained from field cultivation were combined with advanced irrigation scheduling, enabling precise estimation of crop water requirements and optimization of irrigation intervals.In parallel, extraction processes were performed, allowing evaluation of mass and energy balances, solvent consumption, and process performance.This integrated methodology ensures a robust and realistic assessment of the environmental footprint associated with sage production.The results clearly indicate that the cultivation phase is the dominant contributor to overall environmental impact, with the highest energy demand (12.95 MJ/kg) and the extraction phase with the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions (8.63 kg CO₂ eq/kg).These impacts are primarily associated with irrigation, fertilization, and field operations.In contrast, processing and downstream stages contribute comparatively lower but still significant environmental burdens.Importantly, the study identified key optimization strategies that enhance both environmental and process performance.An optimized irrigation interval of 10 days significantly improves water-use efficiency while maintaining biomass productivity.Additionally, the use of a mixed solvent system (hexane: methanol in a 1:3 ratio) increases extraction yield to 1.6%, representing the highest efficiency among tested conditions, while also reducing overall solvent consumption and associated impacts.Overall, the findings highlight critical environmental hotspots within the life cycle of Salvia officinalis L. and provide actionable recommendations for improving sustainability.The integration of agronomic optimization and LCA offers a powerful approach for developing efficient and environmentally responsible production systems for sage-derived bioactive compounds.