TULASI (Whole Plant)
Tulasi consists of dried whole plant of Ocimum sanctum Linn. (Fam. Lamiacem); an erect, 30 – 60 cm high, much branched, annual herb, found throughout the country.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Surasa, Krsnatulasi, Bana Tulasi
Assamese : Tulasi
Bengali : Tulasi
English : Holy Basil
Gujrati : Tulasi, Tulsi
Hindi : Tulasi
Kannada : Tulasi, Shree Tulasi, Vishnu Tulasi
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Tulasi, Tulasa
Marathi : Tulas
Oriya : —
Punjabi : Tulasi
Tamil : Tulasi, Thulasi, Thiru Theezai
Telugu : Tulasi
Urdu : Raihan, Tulsi
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Root – Thin, wiry, branched, hairy, soft, blackish-brown externally and pale. violet internally.
Stem – Erect, herbaceous, woody, branched; hairy, sub quadrangular, externally purplish-brown to black, internally cream, coloured; fracture, fibrous in bark and short in xylem; odour faintly aromatic.
Leaf – 2.5-5 cm long 1.6 – 3.2 cm wide, elliptic oblong, obtuse or acute, entire or serrate, pubescent on both sides; petiole thin, about 1.5-3 cm long hairy; odour, aromatic; taste, characteristic.
Flower – Purplish or crimson coloured, small in close whorls; bracts about 3 mm long and broad, pedicels longer than calyx, slender, pubescent; calyx ovoid or campanulate 3-4 mm bilipped, upper lip broadly obovate or suborbicular, shortly apiculate, lower lip longer than upper having four mucronate teeth, lateral two short and central two largest; corolla about 4 mm long, pubescent; odour, aromatic; taste, pungent.
Fruit – A group of 4 nutlets, each with one seed, enclosed in an enlarged, membranous, veined calyx, nutlets sub-globose or broadly elliptic, slightly compressed, nearly smooth; pale brown or reddish with small black marking at the place of attachment to the thalamus; odour, aromatic; taste, pungent.
Seed – Rounded to oval; brown, mucilaginous when soaked in water, 0.1 cm long, slightly notched at the base; no odour; taste, pungent, slightly mucilaginous.
b) Microscopic
Root – Shows a single layered epidermis followed by cortex, consisting of seven or more layers of rectangular, round to oval polygonal, thin-walled, parenchymatous cells, filled with brown content, inner layers of cortex devoid of contents; phloem consisting of sieve elements, thin-walled, rectangular parenchyma cells and scattered groups of fibres, found scattered in phloem; xylem consists of vessels, tracheids, fibres and parenchyma; vessels pitted; fibre tracheides, long, pitted with pointed ends; fibres thick walled and with pointed ends.
Stem – Shows a single layered epidermis with uniseriate, multicellular covering trichomes having 5-6 cells, occasionally a few cells collapsed; cortex consists of 10 or more layers of thin-walled, rectangular, parenchymatous cells; phloem consists of sieve elements, thin-walled, rectangular parenchyma cells and fibres; fibres found scattered mostly throughout phloem, in groups and rarely in singles; xylem occupies major portion of stem consisting of vessels, tracheids fibres and parenchyma; vessels pitted; fibres with pointed ends; centre occupied by nan-ow pith consisting of round to oval, thin-walled, parenchymatous cells.
Leaf–
Petiole – shows somewhat cordate outline, consisting of single layered epidermis composed of thin-walled, oval cells having a number of covering and glandular trichomes; covering trichomes multicellular 1-8 celled long,rarely slightly reflexed at tip; glandular trichomes short, sessile with 1-2 celled stalk and 2-8 celled balloonshaped head, measuring 22-27 in dia; epidermis followed by 1 or 2 layers and 2 or 3 layers of thin-walled, elongated, parenchyma cells towards upper and lower surfaces respectively; three vascular bundles situated centrally, middle one larger than other two; xylem surrounded by phloem.
Midrib – epidermis, trichomes and vascular bundles similar to those of petiole except cortical layers reduced towards apical region.
Lamina – epidermis and trichomes similar to those of petiole; both anomocytic and diacytic type of stomata present on both surfaces, slightly raised above the level of epidermis; palisade single layered followed by 4-6 layers of closely packed spongy parenchyma with chloroplast and oleo-resin; stomatal index 10-12-15 on upper surface and 14 – 15 – 16 on lower surface; palisade ratio 3.8; vein islet number 31 – 35.
Powder – Greenish: shows thin-walled, parenchymatous cells, a few containing reddish brown contents, unicellular and rnulticellular-trichomes either entire or in pieces; thin walled fibres, xylem vessels with pitted thickenings, fragments of epidermal cells in surface view having irregular shape, oil globules, rounded to oval, simple as well as compound starch grains having 2-5 components, measuring 3-17 n in diameter.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.2.
Total Ash Not more than 10 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 1.5 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 4 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 8 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of Tulasi oil obtained by stem distillation is carried out on Silica gel ‘G’ plate using Toluene : Ethylacetate (93:7) Tulasi oil is diluted in chloroform-toluene (1: 10). Eugenol to be applied as standard also diluted in 130 ratio and 10 nl of each to be applied in band form. After running distance of 10 cm the plate is air drying for 15 minutes and than kept in the over for 2 to 5 minutes. On cooling spray, in thoroughly vanillin – Sulphuric acid reagent and heat the plate at 110° C for 5 – 1- minutes Under observation. Record Rf. values of eugenol and caryophyllence. Eugenol (orange brown) approx. Rf. value 0.7, caryophyllence (reddish violet) runs to solvent front.
CONSTITUENTS – Essential Oil.
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kasaya
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa, Tiksna
Virya : Usna
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Dipana, Hrdya, Kaphahara, Rucya, Vatahara, Pittavardhini, Durgandhihara
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Tribhuvanakirti Rasa, Muktapancamrta Rasa, Muktadi Mahanjana, Manasamitra Vataka
THERAPEUTIC USES – Asmari, Svasa, Chardi, Hikka, Kasa, Krmiroga, Kustha, Netraroga, Parsva Sula
DOSE – 1-3 ml of the drug in juice form.
1-2 g of the drug in powder form (seed).
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