While holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) has been traditionally used to treat a wide variety of conditions, recent investigations have indicated that holy basil has adaptogenic, or anti-stress, properties.
Holy basil is a well known plant that grows throughout India. It has been used for centuries in the ancient practice of Indian medicine known as Ayurveda and is considered to have several therapeutic properties.
According to Dr. K.P. Bhargava and Dr. N. Singh in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, "...the innocuous nature of holy basil extract coupled with [its] normalizing effect during a variety of stressful situations indicates a state of non-specific increased resistance in the organism induced by the extract, which is characteristic of adaptogens."
Dr. Bhargava and Dr. Singh recently examined the ability of holy basil to increase resistance against a variety of stress-induced biological changes in animals. They divided albino rats and mice into 2 groups. One group served as the control group, while the other group was treated with varying doses of holy basil extract, the most common dose being 100 mg/kg per day.
After treatment, animals underwent a variety of stress tests including a swimming endurance test, cold and restraint tests, and a liver toxin test.
At the end of the study, Dr. Bhargava and Dr. Singh concluded that the rats and mice who were treated with holy basil extract showed, in comparison to the untreated groups, increases in physical endurance and adrenal function, decreases in ulcers induced by cold or restraint stress, and reduced liver dysfunction.
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Indian J Med Res 1981;73:443-51.