''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulasi'' or ''tulsi'' (), is an aromatic

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

. It is widely cultivated throughout the

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Australia and the western Pacific. This plant has escaped from cultivation and has

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in many tropical regions of the Americas. It is an agricultural and environmental weed. ''Tulasi'' is cultivated for religious and

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

purposes, and also for its

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

. It is widely used as an

herbal tea Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plai ...

, commonly used in

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

. It has a place within the

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

tradition of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, in which devotees perform worship involving the plant or its leaves.

Morphology

Holy basil is an erect, many-branched subshrub, tall with hairy stems. Leaves are green or purple; they are simple, petioled, with an

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

blade up to long, which usually has a slightly toothed margin; they are strongly scented and have a

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

phyllotaxy. The purplish flowers are placed in close whorls on elongated

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s. The three main morphotypes cultivated in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

are ''Ram tulsi'' (the most common type, with broad bright green leaves that are slightly sweet), the less common purplish green-leaved (

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

or ''Shyam tulsi'') and the common wild ''vana tulsi'' (e.g., ''Ocimum gratissimum'').

Phytochemicals

The plant and its oil contain diverse

phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s, including

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

eugenol Eugenol is an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. It is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ...

caryophyllene Caryophyllene (), more formally (−)-β-caryophyllene (BCP), is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that occurs widely in nature. Caryophyllene is notable for having a cyclobutane ring, as well as a ''trans''-double bond in a 9-membered ring, both ...

carvacrol Carvacrol, or cymophenol, C6H3(CH3)(OH)C3H7, is a monoterpene, monoterpenoid phenol. It has a characteristic pungent, warm odor of oregano. Natural occurrence Carvacrol is present in the essential oil of ''Origanum vulgare'' (oregano), oil of t ...

, linalool,

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

, and cinnamyl acetate, among others. One study reported that the plant contains an eponymous family of 10 neolignan compounds called ''tulsinol A-J''. Specific

aroma compound An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance, flavoring or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficien ...

s in the

are camphor (32%), eucalyptol (19%), ⍺-bisabolene (17%), eugenol (14%), germacrene (11%) and β-bisabolene (11%). In addition, more than 60 different aroma compounds were found through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of holy basil. However, other studies have stated tulsi essential oil consists mostly of eugenol (70%) β-elemene (11%), β-caryophyllene (8%), and

germacrene Germacrenes are a group of five naturally occurring volatile organic hydrocarbons of the sesquiterpene and cycloalkene class. Germacrenes are typically produced in a number of plant species for their antimicrobial and insecticidal properties, th ...

(2%), with the balance being made up of various trace compounds, mostly

terpenes Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...

Uses

Culinary

Thai cuisine

The leaves of holy basil, known as ''kaphrao'' in the

Thai language Thai,In or Central Thai (historically Siamese;Although "Thai" and "Central Thai" have become more common, the older term, "Siamese", is still used by linguists, especially when it is being distinguished from other Tai languages (Diller 2008:6 ...

(), are commonly used in

Thai cuisine Thai cuisine (, , ) is the national cuisine of Thailand. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with aromatics and spicy heat. The Australian chef David Thompson (chef), David Thompson, an expert on Thai food, observes that ...

for certain stir-fries and curries such as '' phat kaphrao'' () — a stir-fry of Thai holy basil with meats, seafood or, as in '' khao phat kraphao'', with rice. Two different types of holy basil are used in Thailand, a "red" variant which tends to be more pungent, and a "white" version for seafood dishes. ''Kaphrao'' should not be confused with ''horapha'' (), which is normally known as Thai basil,Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
/ref> or with Thai lemon basil (''maenglak''; ).

Minangkabau cuisine

Holy basil (in

Minangkabau language Minangkabau (Minangkabau: , Jawi script: ; ) is an Austronesian language spoken by the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the western part of Riau, South Aceh Regency, the northern part of Bengkulu and Jambi, also in several cities throughout Ind ...

and

Indonesian language Indonesian (; ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has ...

are known as ') is also widely used for Minangkabau dishes, particularly for its gulai variety, which involves fish as the primary source of protein. These Minangkabau fish gulais that commonly use holy basil such as ''gulai ikan mas'' (carp gulai), ''gulai ikan kakap'' (red snapper gulai), ''gulai kepala ikan kakap'' (red snapper's head gulai), ''samba ikan gadang'' or ''pangek'' (braised fish gulai), and ''gulai telur ikan'' (fish roe gulai). Holy basil leaves are used to enhance flavour.

Insect repellent

For centuries, the dried leaves have been mixed with stored grains to repel insects.

Nematicidal

The essential oil may have nematicidal properties against '' Tylenchulus semipenetrans'', '' Meloidogyne javanica'', '' Anguina tritici'', and '' Heterodera cajani''.

Significance in Hinduism

''Tulasi'' has been used in Ayurvedic and

Siddha ''Siddha'' (Sanskrit: '; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of perfection of the intellect as we ...

practices for its supposed medicinal properties. ''Tulasi'' is a sacred plant for

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

s, particularly the Vaishnavite sect. It is worshipped as the

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

, and is often planted in

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

s of Hindu houses or temples to

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. The ritual lighting of lamps each evening during '' Kartik'' includes the worship of the ''tulsi'' plant. Vaishnavites are also known as "those who bear the'' tulsi'' around the neck". '' Tulasi Vivaha'' is a ceremonial festival performed between '' Prabodhini Ekadashi'' (the 11th or 12th lunar day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartika) and '' Kartik Purnima'' (the full moon of the month). Every evening, Odia and Bengali Hindus place earthen lamps in front of tulsi plants. During the Kati Bihu festival celebrated in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, people light earthen lamps (''

diya Diya may refer to: * ''Diya (film)'', 2018 Indian Tamil- and Telugu-language film * Diya (Islam), Islamic term for monetary compensation for bodily harm or property damage * Diya (lamp), ghee- or oil-based candle often used in South Asian religious ...

'') at the foot of the household tulsi plants and pray.

Gallery

File:Ocimum tenuiflorum inflorescence closeup.jpg, Inflorescence File:Japa mala (prayer beads) of Tulasi wood with 108 beads - 20040101-01.jpg, Prayer beads made from ''tulsi'' wood

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q960124 Herbs tenuiflorum Flora of tropical Asia Flora of China Flora of Taiwan Flora of the Marshall Islands Flora of the Mariana Islands Flora of Vanuatu Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1753 Indian spices Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus