Man is increasingly being faced with many health conditions, including viral infection, some of which increases the risk to cancer. These infectious agents contribute to the large number of persons with cancer and the worrisome number that die from the diseases. A good range of drugs are currently in place for treating patients infected with viruses, however, some of the drugs' effectiveness are limited by the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the viruses, as well as adverse effects of the drugs. Similarly, the inability of many anticancer drugs to selectively kill cancer cells while sparing hosts’ normal cells limit their use. This warrants more research for newer drugs, especially from chemicals naturally encrypted in plants with anticancer and antiviral activities. In response to infection with cancer-inducing viruses, plants such as Salvia species synthesize and store secondary metabolites to protect themselves and kill these viruses as well as inhibit their ability to induce carcinogenesis. Hence, this review presented a discussion on the potential application of Salvia species in the prevention and management of cancer and viral infection. The study also discusses the cellular mechanisms of action of these herbal products against cancer cells and viruses, where available and provided suggestions on future research directions. The study is believed to spur more research on how to exploit Salvia phytochemicals as candidates for the development of nutraceuticals and drugs for managing cancers and viral infection.
