Ocimum
basilicum.
Sweet basil
Family: Labiatae Cultivated worldwide.
This plant should not be conufed with Wild Basil, which is Calamintha clinapodium-
and has clusters of small red flowers. PART USED:Whole
herb ACTIONS
1. GROUP: Herbs for the mind and emotions - Cephalics.[1]
2. Antispasmodic.[1] Analgesic.[3]
3. Antiseptic.[1] Antibacterial.[3]
4. Stomachic..[1] Carminative.[3]
5. Thymoleptic.[1]
6. Aromatic.[3]
7. Vermifuge- see research[3] INDICATIONS
1. Mental fatigue or weakness, indecision depression. Insomnia especially of children
anxiety.[1]
2. Nausea and vomiting.[1] Dyspepsia.
Colic.[1]
3. Migraine.[1]
4. Thrush. Tonsillitis. Coughs including whooping cough. Inflammatory ear conditions.[1]
5. Vertigo.[1]
6. Diseases of the kidney.[3] PREPARATIONS
Infusion (S) 60-100 ml
Decoction- A small handful fresh herb to 1000 ml in cupful doses Local: Footbaths and handbaths. Use the fresh juice as ear-drops.[1] PART USED:
Essential Oil DESCRIPTION: Light green in color. ACTIONS
1. Refreshes, brings clarity and helps stamina.[2] INDICATIONS
1. Headache. Head colds- Used in a massage oil blend massaging the neck, temples
and forehead.[2]
2. Strengthening- Use in a massage oil blend to relieve muscular cramping and
stress and strain.[2]
3. Useful for tired students, writers, office workers or long distance drivers.[2] CONTRAINDICATIONS: Pregnancy. May be irritating to sensitive skin.[2] PREPARATIONS
Vaporization. Top note.[2] DESCRIPTION:
An annual herb reaching about 20 cm, with an erect stem and numerous branches.
the leaves are opposite, stalked, broadly ovate and pointed; usually pale green
and dotted with oil glands, however purple varieties occur as ornamentals. The
flowers, which appear in summers, are small and whitish, sometimes with a purple
tinge in long loose spikes. References
[1] Herbal Materia Medica Course Notes For Diploma of Naturopathy and Diploma
of Herbalism Students by Lydia Mottram.
[2] Sunspirit Aromatherapy. Sunspirit Oils Pty Ltd. A Ti-Tree Place. Byron Bay
NSW 2481. www.sunspirit.com.au.
[3] Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations R.C. Wren
Revised by Elizabeth M. Williamson and Fred J Evans. First published in Great
Britain in 1988 and reprinted in 1989 and 1994 by the C. W. Daniel Company Limited.
1 Church Path, Saffron Walden Essex. Published 1988 Printed and bound by Biddles,
Guildford ISBN 085207 1973. Images
1. en.wikipedia.org
by Castielli CC BY-SA 3.0
2. en.wikipedia.org
by Henna CC BY-SA 1.0
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the
use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. Constituents.
Up to about 1% volatile oil:[2] Linalool
- up to 55%.[2] Estragol- up to 70%.[3]
Methyl cinnamate, cineole, b-caryophyllene, a-phallandrene
and derivatives, ocimene, borneol, eugenol, methyl eugenol, geraniol, anethole,
cadinols, sabinene, myrcene, limonene, r-cymeme.[3,4]
Camphor.[1,4] Linolol, lineol and camphor.[1]
True or " Sweet" basil oil contains little or not camphor,
and is distilled in Europe and the USA, whereas African ("Renunion"
or "Exotic") basil oil contains more camphor and very little linalool,
and is considered to be an inferior quality.[3] Polyphenolic acids such as caffeic, vitamin A and C, and protein.[2] References
[1] Herbal Materia Medica Course Notes For Diploma of Naturopathy and Diploma
of Herbalism Students by Lydia Mottram.
[2] Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations R.C. Wren
Revised by Elizabeth M. Williamson and Fred J Evans. First published in Great
Britain in 1988 and reprinted in 1989 and 1994 by the C. W. Daniel Company Limited.
1 Church Path, Saffron Walden Essex. Published 1988 Printed and bound by Biddles,
Guildford ISBN 085207 1973.
[3] Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients used in Food Drugs and Cosmetics,
Albert Y. Leung. Pub. John Wiely & Sons Inc (1980) NY
[4] Herbs. an Indexed Bibliography 1971-80 Eds. J. E. Simon, A. F. Chadwick and
L. E. Craker. Pub. Archon Books (1984) USA
Research. Some of the vermicidal properties have been confirmed, and the antibacterial
effects in acne sufferers demonstrated, in clinical trials in India.[1,2]
The oil is reportedly non-toxic,[3]
however estagole is a known hepatocarcinogen in animals.[4] References
1. Jain, M. L. and Jain, S. R. (1972) Planta Med. 22, 66
2. Balambal, R. et al, (1985) J. Assoc. Phys. (India) 33 (8) 507
3. Opdyke, D. L. J. (1973) Food Cosmetics. Toxicol. 11, 867
4. Miller, El. C. et al. (1983) Cancer research 43,
1124
Antiviral activities of extracts and selected pure constituents of Ocimum
basilicum. Chiang LC1, Ng LT, Cheng PW, Chiang W, Lin CC. Abstract: Ocimum basilicum (OB), also known as sweet
basil, is a well known medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine preparations.
In the present study, extracts and purified components of OB were used to identify
possible antiviral activities against DNA viruses (herpes viruses (HSV), adenoviruses
(ADV) and hepatitis B virus) and RNA viruses (coxsackievirus B1 (CVB1) and enterovirus
71 (EV71)). 2. The results show that crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts of OB
and selected purified components, namely apigenin, linalool and ursolic acid,
exhibit a broad spectrum of antiviral activity. Of these compounds, ursolic acid
showed the strongest activity against HSV-1 (EC50 = 6.6 mg/L; selectivity index
(SI) = 15.2), ADV-8 (EC50 = 4.2 mg/L; SI = 23.8), CVB1 (EC50 = 0.4 mg/L; SI =
251.3) and EV71 (EC50 = 0.5 mg/L; SI = 201), whereas apigenin showed the highest
activity against HSV-2 (EC50 = 9.7 mg/L; SI = 6.2), ADV-3 (EC50 = 11.1 mg/L; SI
= 5.4), hepatitis B surface antigen (EC50 = 7.1 mg/L; SI = 2.3) and hepatitis
B e antigen (EC50 = 12.8 mg/L; SI = 1.3) and linalool showed strongest activity
against AVD-II (EC50 = 16.9 mg/L; SI = 10.5). 3. No activity was noted for carvone,
cineole, beta-caryophyllene, farnesol, fenchone, geraniol, beta-myrcene and alpha-thujone.
4. The action of ursolic acid against CVB1 and EV71 was found to occur during
the infection process and the replication phase. 5. With SI values greater than
200, the potential use of ursolic acid for treating infection with CVB1 and EV71
merits further investigation.
Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2005 Oct;32(10):811-6. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The effects of green Ocimum basilicum hydroalcoholic extract on retention
and retrieval of memory in mice Shadi Sarahroodi, Somayyeh Esmaeili,
Peyman Mikaili, Zahra Hemmati, and Yousof Saberi Abstract: The purpose of this study was evaluation
of green Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) hydroalcoholic extract on memory retention
and retrieval of mice by using passive avoidance apparatus. For this purpose,
after weighting, coding and classifying the mice, they were grouped (n = 8)
as follow as: test groups (electric shock plus sweet basil extract by doses:
100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg, i.p.), control group (Only electric shock) and
blank group (electric shock plus normal saline). In all mentioned groups delay
time of leaving the platform for both retention and retrieval test of memory
was measured. In retention test, sweet basil extract was administered immediately
after receiving electric shock and in retrieval test it was administered 24
hours after receiving electric shock. The results indicated that hydroalcoholic
extract of green Ocimum basilicum significantly (P < 0.05) increased memory
retention. The best response was achieved with 400 mg/Kg of the extract. Also,
results showed that sweet basil extract significantly (P < 0.05) increased
memory retrieval and the best result was achieved with 400 mg/Kg too. It can
be concluded that memory enhancing effects of green Ocimum basilicum is because
of antioxidant activity of flavonoids, tannins and terpenoids. Anc Sci Life.
2012 Apr-Jun; 31(4): 185–189. doi: 10.4103/0257-7941.107354 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Hypolipidaemic activity of aqueous Ocimum basilicum extract in acute
hyperlipidaemia induced by triton WR-1339 in rats and its antioxidant property.
Amrani S, Harnafi H, Bouanani Nel H, Aziz M, Caid HS, Manfredini S, Besco E,
Napolitano M, Bravo E. Abstract: Hyperlipidaemia, atherosclerosis and related
diseases are becoming a major health problem in developing countries. Ocimum
basilicum is one of the medicinal plants widely used in Morocco to reduce plasma
cholesterol and to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis-related diseases. However,
mechanisms underlying the reported hypolipidaemic effect of this plant have
not been investigated. This study evaluates the lipid lowering effect of aqueous
Ocimum basilicum extract in Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidaemic rats. Hyperlipidaemia
was developed in animals by intraperitoneal injection of Triton (200 mg/kg).
After injection of Triton the animals were divided into three treatment groups:
hyperlipidaemic, hyperlipidaemic plus herb extract and hyperlipidaemic plus
fenofibrate treated rats. At 7 h after the Triton injection, levels of plasma
cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol in rats treated also with the
Ocimum basilicum extract (0.5 g/100 g body weight) were, respectively, 50%,
83% and 79% lower than Triton-treated rats and HDL-cholesterol was 129% higher
than in rats given Triton alone. At 24 h following Ocimum basilicum administration,
total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol levels decreased by 56%,
63% and 68%, respectively, in comparison with the Triton treated group and HDL-cholesterol
was not increased significantly. The hypolipidaemic effect exerted by Ocimum
basilicum extract was markedly stronger than the effect induced by fenofibrate
treatments. Further it was demonstrated that Ocimum basilicum aqueous extract
displayed a very high antioxidant power. These results indicate that Ocimum
basilicum extract may contain hypolipidaemic and antioxidant substances and
its use as a therapeutic tool in hyperlipidaemic subjects may be of benefit
and encourage further investigation in this field. Phytother Res. 2006 Dec;20(12):1040-5.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
