Abstract

A REVIEW ON PHYTOCHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL USES OF OCIMUM SANCTUM LINN

Ajay Mandal* and P Jagan Mohan Reddy

Abstract

Ocimum sanctum Linn. (Tulsi), a sacred and traditional medicinal plant of India which belongs to the family Lamiaceae possesses innumerable health benefits and therefore regarded as the “Elixir of Life”. The entire plant body including its leaves, stem, root, inflorescence and seed are proved to be significant medicinal value and hence it is one among the inevitable plant used in the preparation of various ayurvedic pharmacological products. The plant is a rich source of various components including eugenol, Vicenin- 2, linoleic acid, oleic acid, rosmarinic acid, Ocimarin, isorientin, orientin, isovitexin, aesculectin, aesculin, chlorgrnic acid, galuteolin, circineol, gallic acid, Citronellal, Camphene, Sabinene, Dimethyl benzene, Myrecene, Ethyl benzene, Limocene, Vitamin C, Calcium, Phosphorous and many more. Ocimum sanctum L. is a plant which is used in several traditional medicine systems to cure various diseases. This plant has been known to possess antibacterial activity, antianaphylactic activity, antihistaminic and mast cell stabilization activity, wound healing effect, radioprotective effect, antidiabetic effect, antioxidant activity, anti-carcinogenic properties, immunologic effects, contraceptive effect, larvicidal property, anti genotoxic effect, neuroprotective effect, cardio-protective effect and other miscellaneous activities. This review elucidates indepth literature survey particularly focussing the phytochemical constituents of Tulsi as well as extrapolating its Ethanopharmacological property.

Keywords: Medicinal plant, Ocimum sanctum L., pharmacology, phytochemistry.