BASIL

Description

( Ocimum basilicum )

Basil is one of the most frequently used culinary herbs. It is crucial to Italian cooking, and often called for in French, Indian, Asian, and Greek cuisine as well. The word basil comes from the Greek “basileus,” which means “sovereign”. Basil is an annual plant that normally grows 20-50 cm tall. The plant has an upright, square stem with many side branches. The leaves sit in pairs up the stem. The leaves are usually light green, but purple cultivars are found.

USED PLANT PARTS
Basil herba (syn. Ocimi herba): Basil. The leaves, or the entire above-ground part of the herb are used. The plant is cut when flowering begins, but if you want the plant to come with new shoots, you must not cut higher than the lower growth points. The drug has an aromatic scent and a strong spicy taste.

INGREDIENTS
The whole plant contains 0.2-1% essential oil with varying composition, depending on the place of origin. Most important are estragole (methyllavikol), eugenol, linalol and linyl acetate. Other ingredients include tannins, monoterpenes (such as cineole, ocimene, garaniol and camphor), sesquiterpenes, phenylpropanes (such as methyl cinnamate), beta-carotene and vitamin C.

PROPERTIES AND EFFECT OF THE HERB
Taste / Energy: Sharp and bitter / Hot and dry.
A very aromatic herb, which in addition to being used in cooking also has medicinal properties (applies to both the herb and the essential oil extracted from it). Basil is warming, antispasmodic, diuretic, expectorant, antiperspirant, appetizing, digestive regulator, stomach enhancer, air diuretic, laxative regulator, blood cleanser, milk diuretic, menstrual stimulant, antipyretic, analgesic, detoxifying, antiseptic and bactericidal, insecticidal. It can also help drive out intestinal worms. The herb has a calming, nerve-strengthening and antidepressant effect, and is considered generally tonic. Basil has a reputation for being aphrodisiac.