Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Description —
This is an erect, small shrub with many branches, usually not more than 1 m
high. The leaves are simple, lanceolate to oblong, up to 9 cm long and 4.5 cm broad, with cuneate or
unequal-sided base and toothed margins. They are sparsely hairy on the undersurface and pitted with
glands. The veins are slightly hairy. The herbs have an aromatic smell when crushed. The flowers are
creamy white or yellowish and appear in paniculate racemes about 12 cm long. The calyx is small
and 2 lipped; the upper lip is broadly oval in
shape with a tiny short point. The lower lip is oblong and
toothed, and the petals combine to form a lipped tube. The fruits occur as small 4-lobed capsules.
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Habitat and Distribution —
It occurs in deciduous forests and savanna. It is commonly found
around village huts and gardens and is cultivated for its medicinal uses and as a food flavor.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The whole herb is used throughout West Africa as a febrifuge and as
an ingredient of many malaria remedies. The crushed leaves are instilled into the eye as a treatment
for conjunctivitis. The oil from the leaves is regarded as highly antiseptic and has been applied for
the dressing of wounds, as a mouth gargle, and to prevent postpartum sepsis. The leaves are used in
Nigeria as a stomachache and catarrh remedy
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and as a general tonic and antidiarrheal. The oil is
used in many parts of West Africa to prevent mosquito bites. The oil mixed with alcohol is applied
as a lotion for skin infections and taken internally for bronchitis. An infusion of the leaves, the so-
called Ocimum tea or bush tea, is dispensed as a remedy for fever and as a diaphoretic.
The leaves are boiled with those of
Spondias
and the bark of
Funtumia elastica
and applied as a
treatment for hemorrhoids. The leaves are also applied externally for rheumatic pains and lumbago.
Constituents —
The leaves yield a very aromatic volatile oil that consists mainly of thymol
(32-65%) and eugenol. The plant also contains xanthones, terpenes, and lactones. The chemical
composition of
Ocimum gratissimum
essential oil varies enormously according to chemotypes:
timol, eugenol, or geraniol.
Pharmacological Studies —
Thymol isolated from the plant has been shown to be antiseptic,
antitussive, and antispasmodic.
830
Some of the observed biological activity of the plant could be due
to the presence of xanthones, which have been associated with monoamine oxidase inhibition activ-
it y,
831
the tetraoxygenated xanthones with anticonvulsant properties, and the secoiridoids, which
possess stimulant and antispasmodic properties.
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A fraction of the crude extract has been shown to
contract guinea pig ileum and rat colon and to raise rat mean arterial blood pressure.
832
The volatile
oil exhibited antimicrobial, insect repellent, and anthelmintic activity.
833
Oral and topical formula-
tions of the plant have been evaluated in Nigeria.
833
Ocimum
leaf extract is effective in the treatment of malaria
834
and CNS diseases.
835
Evaluation
of the CNS activity was done using the open-field and rota-rod tests; sleeping time induced by
sodium pentobarbital (PBS; 40 mg/kg i.p.) and anticonvulsant activity against seizures induced by
both pentylenetetrazole (pTZ; 85 mg/kg s.c.) and maximal electroshock (MES; 50 mA, 0.11 s) were
determined. Essential oils obtained in each season were effective in increasing the sleeping dura-
tion, and a preparation obtained in spring was able to protect animals against tonic seizures induced
by electroshock. In each season, eugenol and 1,8-cineole were the most abundant compounds, and
in spring, the essential oil presented the greatest relative percentage of sesquiterpenes, suggesting
that these compounds could explain the differences observed in the biological activity in essential
oils obtained in different seasons of the year.
836
OCIMUM SUAVE
Botanical Name —
Ocimum suave
Willd.
Synonyms —
Ocimum trichodon
Bak. ex Gürke,
Ocimum dalabaense
A. Chev.
Family —
Lamiaceae
African Names —
Kipare: mrumbash, muodo; Kimeru: induka, mnuka; Kirufiji: kifumbazi,
manyinyiikwa; Kisambaa: msumbasha, mvumbash; Kiswahili (Kiluguru): kivumbashi; Kiarusha:
