What are Health Benefits of Basil?

What is Basil good for?

Basil herb is a culinary ingredient and also used as ornamental purposes. Asia and Africa are two native places of basil. Basil plants spread the down hilly region of Punjab in India. Some of the Mediterranean countries including Turkey also produce basil. The scientific name of this herb is Ocimum basilicum L. and belongs to the Lamiaceae family. Basil has many local names, but commonly known as sweet basil. There are many benefits of basil. Both Ayurveda and Unani medicinal systems use Basil due to their medicinal properties. In folk medicines, basil leaves and flowers used to formulate health tonic. Basil is useful as an anthelmintic medicine.

What are the chemicals present in Basil?

Basil has different breeds and contains a number of essential oils. The blending of essential oils differs depending upon the variety of breeds. Eugenol, an active constituent gives a clove flavor to Basil, Citral gives citrus scent, whereas limonene essential oil has an odor of lemon peel. African bluish-colored basil contains a higher proportion of camphene, which imparts camphor-like smell. Licorice basil is another variety of sweet basil which contains anethole, a phytochemical present in anise. 

What is the mode of action of basil plant benefits?

Basil has a wide range of traditional medicinal use, including broad-spectrum anti-microbial property. Traditionally, this herb is used as a taste booster, curing multiple blood ailments, cardioprotective, antipyretic, anthelmintic, and stomachic. It has assumed that antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of essential oils present in basil responsible for the therapeutic benefits of this herb.

Different Forms of Basil and Basil Plant Benefits

There are different forms in which basil benefits health.

Basil tea benefits: It is useful for reducing different digestive disorders including vomiting, diarrhea, constipation. It is also effective to alleviate mental fatigue conditions and acts as a cough remedy.

Basil oil benefits: It is an effective treatment for headache and mood enhancer, which prevents depression. Basil oil also acts as a mosquito repellant. Gout and arthritis patients can emerge their pain affected body parts in Basil oil blended warm water. This remedial treatment also effective to reduce menstrual pain symptoms.

Bail vapor: Adding a few drops of basil oil in warm water and inhalation of the vapor gives relief from migraines. Basil vapor also improve mental concentration and provide mind relaxing effect.

Basil juice benefits: External application of basil juice at the site of insect bite helps to extract out poisonous venom from the body.

Basil seeds: These are mucilaginous in nature and effective to treat chronic diarrhea, dysentery, and gonorrhea. Basil seeds reduce blood glucose levels and treat diabetes.

Basil water benefits: Washing and gargling with basil gargle prevent oral infection.

Basil leaf benefits: This is an effective antibacterial, respiratory disease prevention remedy. The basil leaves medicinal benefits are in the prevention of stress-related disorders.

Basil extract benefits: The strong antimicrobial activity and prevents internal parasitic growth.

What are the Basil benefits for Health?

Immunity booster

Oral administration of basil formulation is effective to increase antibody production. Patients who have frequent disease attack due to immune deficiency can be benefitted by taking basil preparation, as it stimulates immune functioning by increasing the number of white blood cells, the natural body defensive mechanism.

Basil benefits for Diabetes and Cholesterol

Hypercholesteremia and diabetes are two metabolic diseases that become global health issues. Basil has triacylglycerols lowering effect. Triacylglycerols increase lipid content in blood plasma and accumulates in the arteries. The chronic condition leads to heart diseases. Basil also increases HDL, which has a beneficial effect on the heart. Thus, Basil exerts antihyperglycemic, which prevents cardiovascular disease.

Hyperglycemia or increase blood glucose levels can also be controlled by basil, as bail can reduce blood glucose levels. Both antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of basil tested on animals and showed a positive result.

Basil benefits for Blood Pressure

Aggregation of palates inside the blood vessels causes blood to thicken. The obstructive flow of blood due to the thickening of blood leads to cardiovascular diseases. Basil inhibits thrombin activation and prevents thrombosis of blood. Thus, blood vessels relaxing effect prevents hypertension.

Basil benefits for Skin

External application of basil oil is an effective treatment for skin erythema. In erythematic skin conditions, skin becomes reddened due to the increased flow of blood in the underlying capillaries. Basil also regulates melanin secretion from skin tissue.

Basil benefits for Brain

Central nervous system disorder causes multiple health issues like depression, convulsion, insomnia, etc. Treatment with basil improves CNS functioning by inducing anti-depressant action and anticonvulsant activity. The essential oil present in basil such as linalool, geraniol and 1, 8-cineole are effective to improve the sleep cycle. Thus, eff prevents sleep-depriving related to depression. Basil also effective to combat ataxia by regulating the sleep cycle.

Basil benefits digestive health

Basil is effective to normalize the pepsin release and prevents dyspepsia and improves digestion. Basil leaves juice benefits the muscular activity in the digestive tract and regulates the gastric motility. Thus, it prevents dysmotility, especially for children.

Colitis is another digestive disease that occurs due to inflammation of the membrane covering the colon and cause multiple digestive disorders. The essential oil present in basil has a protective effect against colitis. Evidential research results proved this effect.

Basil benefits for liver

Liver cell degeneration is a common outcome in hepatotoxicity. Monoterpene geraniol and Citral are the major active constituents of essential oil derived from basil which modulates hepatotoxicity and prevents liver cell degeneration.

Oxidative stress reduction

Due to the metabolic functioning of the body and exposure to toxic substances leads to accumulation of free radicals in the cellular structure of the body. Gradual loading of free radicals causes oxidative stress and leads to aging and other metabolic diseases, including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, renal failure, etc. The antioxidant property of Basil leaf is effective to reduce oxidative stress burden. The basil leaves eating benefits in the prevention of some of these stress-related disorders.

Anti-inflammatory effect

Inflammation is a principle underlying cause of many diseases. The anti-inflammatory property of basil is effective to reduce inflammation by reducing the nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and total leukocyte count. Basil also activates phagocytes in the blood plasma.

Antimicrobial property

The broad-spectrum antimicrobial property of basil is effective against bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Basil able to inhibit Both gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial growth. The antibacterial property of basil is effective against Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacterial activity of basil has low minimal inhibition concentration.

Basil inhibits aerial mycelium growth and spore germination of fungi thus provides antifungal activity. The strong antifungal activity of Basil is effective against many fungal growths including A. brassicicola, A. flavus, B. oryzae, F. moniliform, F. proliferatum, P. grisea, and R. solani.

Basil has Anticancer property

An abnormal genetic mutation causes cancer progression. β-myrcene, Linalool, and 1,8-cineole are the active constituents of basil have antimutagenic activity and may help remedy to cancer prevention. In addition, basil provides a cytotoxic effect against cancer cell growth. The anticancer activity of basil leaf studied by using different cancer cell-lining, including cervical cancer, leukemia, and epidermal carcinoma. The study results confirmed that basil has an anti-proliferative effect. It is necessary to mention that basil also acts as a chemopreventive agent due to its antioxidant property, which prevents lipid peroxidation induced damage. 

Basil Side effects and precautionary measures

Basil oil has a stimulant property and not suitable for pregnant women and children below 6 years of age. People with sensitive skin may have skin irritation with the application of basic preparation. It has suggested before applying to the skin, conduction of a skin test is necessary. Basil has an emmenagogue property, which increases menstrual flow. Therefore, it should not use for pregnant women.

References

1. Mueen Ahmad et al. Biological and Pharmacological Properties of the Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) British Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 7(5): 330-339, 2015, Article no. BJPR.2015.115. DOI: 10.9734/BJPR/2015/16505.
2. Sepideh Miraj, Sadegh Kiani. Study of pharmacological effect of Ocimum basilicum: A review. Scholars Research Library der Pharmacia Lettre, 2016, 8 (9):276-280.
3. S. Khair-ul-Bariyah, Ahmed, M. Ikram. Ocimum Basilicum: A Review on Phytochemical and Pharmacological Studies. Pak. J. Chem. 2(2):78-85, 2012.
4. Basil essential oil information.
5. Rajesh Kumar et al. PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES OF OCIMUM BASILICUM L.IAJPS 2017, 4 (10), 3576-3582.
6. Ocimum basilicum. Useful Tropical Plant.