Basil has essential oils mostly confined to the green leaves and thus has a particular aroma. This leaf scented volatile oil chiefly comprises phenols, terpenes and aldehydes. Besides its essential or fixed oils, the plant also includes alkaloids, glycosides, saponins and tannins.
Phenolic compounds may be useful in food processing due to their high antioxidative activities and abundance in basil.
Basil has more than 50 medicinal uses, from analgesic to anthelmintic, and is supposed to treat fungal infections, acne, headaches and over 100 such conditions.
Traditional uses include the treatment of snakebites, colds, and inflammation within nasal passages — a common effect of colds. Basil provides some macronutrients, such as calcium and vitamin K, as well as a range of antioxidants. Basil has been used traditionally in folk medicine for the treatment of inflammation of the respiratory and urinary tracts, for caught, asthma, as a carminative, stomachic and antispasmodic.
The traditional Chinese medicine system involves the use of basil for treatment of gum ulcers, kidney problems and as a haemostyptic in childbirth. In India, it is used for problems as diverse as earache, menstrual irregularities, arthritis, anorexia and malaria.
Health benefits of basil leaves
