Scientific Name: Ocimum sanctum
Common Name: Basil, Tulsi
Family: Lamiaceae
Altitude: upto1000m
Season: Spring and Summer
Parts Used: Whole plant
Description:
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| Holy Basil (Tulsi) |
Tulsi or Holy Basil, a native plant to Indian subcontinent is widely popular herbal species belonging to the family Lamiaceae. It is an aromatic plant known for its multiple medicinal benefits along with its religious and cultural value.
It is of great value in Ayurveda as traditional medicine and essential oil. Tulsi has a separate demand in the market as a herbal tea.
Morphologically the plant is erect, branched with hairy stem. The leaves may be either green or purple on the basis of which it is categorized as Rama Tulsi and Krishna Tulsi.
Religious value:
It is very sacred in Hindu belief and considered as the earthly manifestation of goddess Lakshmi who is the principal consort of Lord Vishnu.
Tulsi is planted in the central courtyard of most of the Hindu houses and worshipped as goddess. The basil plant with green leaves is known to be Rama Tulsi and that with the purple leaves is known as Krishna Tulsi.
Medicinal value:
Ayurveda attaches a great significance to Basil by recognizing it as a holy herb. From the seed to the leaves, Tulsi plant is considered as tonic for body, mind and spirit. In traditional medicine system, the use of whole plant body has been recommended for the treatment of bronchitis, diarrhea, dysentery, malaria, skin disease, arthritis, eye diseases, insect bit etc. Due to its medicinal values, people consider it as the "Queen of Herbs". Holy basil is known to have the following proven health benefits:
- It may be treated as a good remedy against the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (1*)
- The use of this ethnomedical herb for either prevention or therapy of oncological diseases has been shown by studies (2*)
- In an animal study, it was found that Ocimum sanctum was found to be equally effective against gastric and duodenal ulcers. The study suggested the use of this herb against peptic ulcer(3*)
- Researches have proved it as a viable botanical agent for promoting improved resilience to stress, recovery from chronic stress and avoiding stress induced physical changes (4*)
- Tulsi is a safe herbal intervention that may assist in normalizing blood sugar level, blood pressure and lipid profiles (5*)
- Tulsi tea helps to tackle stress, anxiety, inflammation being an adaptogen with anti inflammatory and antioxidant properties (6*)
- Tulsi tea maintains oral and dental health (7*)
Tulsi Vivah:
The ceremonial festival is performed anytime between Prabodhini Ekadashi (the eleventh or twelfth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartik) and Kartik Poornima (the full moon of the month). The day varies regionally.
Tulsi Cultivation:
The requirements for cultivation of holy basil are given below:
a) Temperature:
- Temperature: 14-30°C
- Sowing Temperature:15-25°C
- Harvesting Temperature: 25-35°C
b) Rainfall: 80-120 cm
c) Soil : Well drained soil with good organic content pH 5.5-7
d) Weed Control: Weeding and hoeing to keep the field free of weed
e) Plant Protection:
The possible causes that damage the plants are given below:
- Pests control: Leaf rollers, Tulsi lace wing
- Diseases control : Powdery Mildew, Seedling blight, Root rot
f)Harvesting: Plants start yielding after 3 moths of plantation. Harvesting is done in the full blooming period.
(source: Apni kheti)
Tulsi Green Tea:
If you have Tulsi cultivated at your home, you can pluck the leaves from the and boil them in water to make tea. It can be mixed with ginger, lemon or honey too.
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