COURTESY:WIKIPEDIA

Tulsi Plant

Ocimum tenuiflorum, commonly known as holy basil or tulsi, is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian tropics.

Tulsi is cultivated for religious and traditional medicine purposes, and also for its essential oil. It is widely used as a herbal tea, commonly used in Ayurveda, and has a place within the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, in which devotees perform worship involving holy basil plants or leaves.

The variety of Ocimum tenuiflorum used in Cambodian and Thai cuisine is referred to as Thai holy basil (Thai: กะเพรา kaphrao) or (Khmer: ម្រះព្រៅ mreah-pruv); it is not the same as Thai basil or Chi neang vorng, which is a variety of Ocimum basilicum.

Morphology

Holy basil is an erect, many-branched subshrub, 30–60 cm (12–24 in) tall with hairy stems. Leaves are green or purple; they are simple, petioled, with an ovate blade up to 5 cm (2 in) long, which usually has a slightly toothed margin; they are strongly scented and have a decussate phyllotaxy. The purplish flowers are placed in close whorls on elongated racemes.

The three main morphotypes cultivated in India and Nepal are Ram tulsi (the most common type, with broad bright green leaves that are slightly sweet), the less common purplish green-leaved (Krishna or Shyam tulsi) and the common wild vana tulsi.

Origin and distribution

DNA barcodes of various biogeographical isolates of tulsi from the Indian subcontinent are now available. In a large-scale phylogeographical study of this species conducted using chloroplast genome sequences, a group of researchers from Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, have found that this plant originates from North-Central India.

This basil has now escaped from cultivation and has naturalised into a cosmopolitan distribution.

Chemical composition

Some of the phytochemical constituents of tulsi are oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, eugenol, carvacrol, linalool, and β-caryophyllene (about 8%).

Tulsi essential oil consists mostly of eugenol (~70%) β-elemene (~11.0%), β-caryophyllene (~8%), and germacrene (~2%), with the balance being made up of various trace compounds, mostly terpenes.

Genome sequence

The genome of the tulsi plant has been sequenced and reported as a draft, estimated to be 612 mega bases, with results showing genes for biosynthesis of anthocyanins in Shyama Tulsi, ursolic acid and eugenol in Rama Tulsi.

Uses

Tulsi (Sanskrit:-Surasa) has been used in Ayurveda and Siddha practices for its supposed treatment of diseases.

For centuries, the dried leaves have been mixed with stored grains to repel insects.

Significance in Hinduism

Main article: Tulsi in Hinduism

Tulsi is a sacred plant for Hindus, is worshipped as the avatar of Lakshmi, may be planted in courtyards of Hindu houses or Hanuman temples. The ritual lighting of lamps each evening during Kartik includes the worship of the tulsi plant. Vaishnavas followers of Vishnu are known as “those who bear the tulsi around the neck”.

Tulsi Vivah is a ceremonial festival performed between Prabodhini Ekadashi (the 11th or 12th lunar day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartik) and Kartik Poornima (the full moon of the month).