Basil

Botanical: Ocimum basilicum

Family: Lamiaceae

parts used: aerial parts

properties: adaptogen, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-pyretic, hepatoprotective

plant preparations: infusion, essential oil, tincture, infused oil

garden companion: tomato

This common culinary herb, has its origins in Africa and Asia, where it is believed to contain divine essence. It loves a warm, sunny, and fertile soil. To look at it, you would think it needs a lot of water, but honestly it prefers to grow on the dry side. Never water at night, when the leaves could stay damp too long. Starting from seed (a very easy way to propagate this herb) it is vulnerable to “damping off“. If that happens, brew a cup of chamomile tea, strain, put in a mister bottle, and water the seedlings by misting the seedlings with the tea instead of regular water.

It is happiest cozied up with protection from high winds. It can take the sun full on, but forget frost, basil can’t stand the cold; it is a tender annual. While, like most herbs it is better used fresh from the garden, but basil maintains good color and value when dried. Dry the leaves whole (on the stem if you can) and only crush it when you need to use it. Freezing is good too, but the leaves will maintain better with a painting of olive oil. If you use it for pesto (along with parsley, yum!) that freezes well too.

The volatile oils of the dried herb are weak, so fresh is usually better in both our cooking and when using for wellness.

It can be harvested at any time by snipping the fresh young leaves as they are needed. If whole stems are harvested, cut just above a pair of leaves. New growth will be encouraged at the cut point and should be seen within a week’s time. if basil is allowed to flower and form seed, it will become woody and yields will be considerably less. Nutritive quality will also be affected. Some of the flowers however, do have ornamental value, especially the purple-leafed varieties, which have pink blooms, so if your plants flower, cut some stems for a mixed bouquet.

Culinary Uses for Basil

Sweet Genovese often shows up in Italian cooking and pesto. Lemon basil is widely used in Southeast Asia. Called kemangi, it is a common ingredient in sambals, Indonesian chili-based condiments. The most common cooking basil (Genovese), boasts numerous health benefits because of it’s high levels of antioxidants, magnesium and vitamins.

Since basil is a culinary delight, you can use in many recipes, with wonderful results. Try in sweet breads, on salads, in vinegars, marinades, marinara sauce, jellies. Its flavor compliments garlic nicely. If you make Pesto with it, you can use that to make savory muffins, or put some in soups and stews.

The leaves can be stored in oil to make a flavorful infused oil (add salt to reduce bacteria) or use it an herbal vinegar.
Antioxidants have become an important part of keeping our bodies healthy, and basil may be among the safest and most effective source of this medley of elements. Click To Tweet

Cosmetic Uses for Basil

Make a tea, strain it, then add to your bath for a refreshing experience. (Trust me, you’ll love this!)

In remote parts of the African brush, the tea is used as an after shampoo hair rinse to help control dandruff and scalp psoriasis. Though this is not an officially documented remedy, at the very least, basil teas rinse does leave the hair silky and the scalp feeling fresh. (I know, I tried it, it is lovely.)

Plant-Based Moisturizer

Dry, rough skin isn’t always easy to overcome, but basil may be able to help. As an article published in Nutrition Today explains, when facial creams with oils or extracts from basil were compared with those without basil, the basil-infused versions did a better job enhancing moisture and decreasing roughness.

The Nutrition Today article didn’t only point to the moisturizing benefits of basil. It also cited the potential for wrinkle reduction when the concentrated extract of the leaves and flowers was infused into a facial skin cream.

Lighten Scars

Use basil as an herb to lighten scars. To do this crush some basil leaves to form a paste. Mix the basil pasted with one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of lemon, and use as a mask on your scarred area.

Mosquito Repellent

Basil is a common ingredient in so many remedies for so many ailments. It only makes sense that one of its many uses is also to ward off mosquitoes. The mosquitoes avoid the scent, so rub on some fresh leaves, or use a basil infused oil.

Using Basil for Wellness

Active Ingredients: Basil contains large quantities of E-Beta-CaryoPhyllene (BCP) which may be useful in treating arthritis or bowel diseases. BCP is one of the only products that naturally stimulates the body’s cannabinoid receptors, and it can block the signals that lead to inflammation associated with arthritis. Basil also contains eugenol, cintronellol, linalool, and myrcene.

The main use of basil to support health is as a natural anti-inflammatory. It is similar to the compounds found in oregano and medical marijuana – and may be used as a substitute for the later because it offers the same relief without the “high”. The same compound that makes it useful as an anti-inflammatory is also believed to help combat bowel inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis.

The cooling effect of basil essential oil makes it useful for the treatment of burns and wounds. To do this, heat up some coconut oil and basil essential oil together for a few minutes, and let it come at room temperature. Once the mixture is cooled apply it to the burn, this will ease the pain.

Basil has long been considered an anti-depressant. It makes an excellent infusion that acts on the adrenal cortex, and it can help the body stimulate hormones that regulate the body’s natural response to stress making it useful as an adaptogen.

Protects Your DNA

One of the benefits of leaves for health is DNA protection. Basil leaves are a super great source of antioxidants and other great phytonutrients. Phytonutrients like vicenin and orientin are effective in protecting chromosomes as well as cell structures from oxygen-based damage and radiation. You just need to include basil in daily diet to maintain good cell structure.

Basil Can Help You Quit Smoking

It sounds strange but it works. Basil can support your determination to quit smoking. It can work as effectively as other methods like nicotine patches or gum. (that come with a whopping 96% failure rate) Whenever you feel the urge to smoke chew some basil leaves. Basil juice has a cooling effect on your throat and chewing these leaves will distract you. Moreover, the anti-oxidant of basil will help you to heal damage from smoking.

Basil has been commonly found in a variety of treatments for diarrhea, intestinal parasites, fevers, and skin infections. In addition, basil stimulates the immune system and lowers the uric acid content that is responsible for arthritis and gout. Basil can also be used to treat the pain and inflammation of arthritis.

It may surprise you to know that many therapists recommend basil essential oil as an effective way to improve memory and concentration. If used as an inhalant, basil can help to strengthen the ability to memorize and concentrate better. The refreshing scent of basil can soothe fatigue and treat distraction, common causes of poor memory and lack of concentration. Try this… first thing in the morning rub a few drops of basil essential oil on your palms.

Another good way to strengthen the power of your brain is adding a few drops of essential basil oil to a large bowl of boiling water. Place this bowl on the table. Lean over and try to breathe in the scent of basil. It is best to use a large towel to cover your head in order to prevent the steam from escaping along with the volatile oil.

Naturopathic doctors often prescribe basil for treating diabetes, respiratory disorders, allergies, impotence, and infertility. This may be because basil contains cinnamanic acid, which has been found to enhance circulation, stabilize blood sugar, and improve breathing for those with respiratory disorders.

It is good to know that something so tasty is very high in antioxidants, especially when it is used as an extract or oil. Antioxidants protect your body against free radical damage associated with aging, some skin ailments, and most forms of cancer. Antioxidants have become an important part of keeping our bodies healthy, and basil may be among the safest and most effective source of this medley of elements.

The infusion is an excellent, if often overlooked, digestive aid. The essential oil is an uplifting and energizing antidepressant. The volatile oils in basil, combined with its antioxidant effects make it an excellent boost for the immune system. When inhaled, it is said to improve the circulation and help alleviate high blood pressure.

Ocimum basilicum has been traditionally used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in Iran. It is being studied in relation to colitis, helping to reduce tissue damage. [3]

Clinical studies published also show that basil contains phytochemicals, which can help naturally prevent cancer, including chemical-induced skin, liver, oral and lung cancers. It is able to increase antioxidant activity, positively alter gene expressions, induce cancerous-cell apoptosis (death of harmful cells) and stop cancerous tumors from spreading. [4]

Both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory food, basil can help the muscles that control blood vessel function to contract and relax, promoting healthy blood pressure. Benefits of basil include the ability to help prevent dangerous platelet aggregation, clumping together of blood platelets that can form a clot within the arteries and cause cardiac arrest.

Extracts can also reduce inflammation that can cause cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, proteins that are secreted from cell to cell in order to communicate and raise the body’s immune defenses.

Basils for the Home Garden

As I develop these materia medica for herbs, they evolve, get added to, expounded upon, and grow. Revamping this page I found this formula, unique and helpful…An Herbal Formula for Preserving Warmth. I hope you will find it helpful as well.

More Basil Facts…

• Is known to sharpen memory, use as a nerve tonic, and remove phlegm from your bronchial tubes. Repeat up to once an hour. Leaves can strengthen the stomach and induce perfuse sweating. The seeds can be used to rid the body of excess mucus.
• Fevers: the leaves are used for quenching fevers, especially those related to malaria and other infectious, eruptive fevers common to tropical areas. Boiling leaves with some cardamom in about two quarts of water, then mixed with sugar and milk, brings down temperature. An extract of basil leaves in fresh water should be given every 2 to 3 hours; between doses you can give sips of cold water. This method is especially effective for reducing fevers in children.
• Coughs: This herbs is an important ingredient in cough syrups and expectorants. It can also relieve mucus in asthma and bronchitis. Chewing on basil leaves can relieve colds and flu symptoms.
• Sore Throat: Water boiled with the leaves can be taken as a tonic or used as a gargle when you have a sore throat.
• Respiratory Disorders: Boiling leaves with honey and ginger is useful for treating asthma,bronchitis, cough, cold, and influenza. Boiling the leaves, cloves, and sea salt in some water will give rapid relief of influenza. These combinations should be boiled in about two quarts of water until only half the water remains before they are taken.
• Kidney Stones: Basil can be used to strengthen your kidneys. In cases of stones in your kidney, the juice of basil leaves mixed with honey and taken daily for 6 months will expel them through the urinary tract.
• Heart Problems: Basil can be used to strengthen those weakened by heart disease. It can also reduce your cholesterol.
• Children’s Illnesses: Pediatric complaints like colds, coughs, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting have been know to respond to treatment with the juice of basil leaves. Also if the rash associated with chicken pox is delayed, basil leaves with saffron will bring them to the surface more quickly.
• Stress: Basil leaves can be used as an anti-stress agent. Chewing 12 basil leaves twice a day can prevent stress. It will purify the blood and help prevent many other common ailments. [2]
• Mouth Infections: Chewing a few leaves twice daily can support relief from infections and ulcerations of the mouth.
• Insect Bites: It can be used as a preventative and a curative. A teaspoonful of the basil leaf juice taken every few hours is preventative. Rubbing the bites with juice can relieve the itching and swelling. Also a paste of the root is effective for treating the bites of insects and leeches.
• Skin Disorders: Basil juice applied directly to the effected area is good for ringworm and other common skin ailments. Some naturopaths have used it successfully in the treatment of leucoderma (patches of white or light-colored skin).
• Tooth Problems: Dry leaves in the sun and grind into powder for a tooth cleansing powder. You can also mix with mustard oil to make herbal toothpaste. Both of these methods will counter bad breath and can be used to massage the gums, treat pyorrhea, and other dental health problems.
• Headaches: Basil is a good headache remedy. Boil leaves in half a quart of water, cooking until half the liquid remains. Take a couple of teaspoons an hour with water to relieve your pain and swelling. You can also make a paste of leaves pounded with sandalwood to apply to your forehead to relieve headache and provide coolness in general.
• Eye Disorders: Basil juice is a good for night-blindness and sore eyes. Two drops of black basil juice in each eye at bedtimes each day is soothing.

“With Basil then, I will begin
whose scent is wondrous pleasing”
– Polyolbion by Michael Drayton