Tulsi
The studies identified in this review could be classified according to three main clinical domains including metabolic disorders (15 studies), neurocognitive or mood conditions (4 studies), and immunity and infections (5 studies), which are all extremely relevant to the growing world-wide epidemic of lifestyle-related chronic disease. The finding that the reviewed studies reported favourable clinical effects across these domains suggests that tulsi may indeed be an effective adaptogen that has a role in helping to address the psychological, physiological, immunological, and metabolic stresses of modern living.
It is interesting that tulsi has important clinical effects across diverse therapeutic domains, all of which may have inflammation as an underlying factor. The anti-inflammatory effects of tulsi have been previously documented in many in vitro and in vivo studies [43, 85–88], and it is likely that tulsi has multiple bioactive secondary metabolites that act alone or synergistically to inhibit inflammatory pathways. There is also evidence to suggest that tulsi may be useful as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy and nutrition in the treatment of metabolic disorders thereby reducing the need for high doses of drugs, which may have adverse effects. The clinical effects demonstrated in the reviewed studies suggest tulsi may have an important role in addressing other inflammatory disorders and that the Ayurvedic tradition of consuming tulsi on a daily basis may be an effective lifestyle measure to address many modern chronic diseases.
The most commonly used part of the tulsi plant is the leaf (dried or fresh), which is known to contain several bioactive compounds including eugenol, ursolic acid, β-caryophyllene, linalool, and 1,8-cineole [89–91]. Eugenol has been found to be the major bioactive metabolite common to all three tulsi varieties with varying amounts in each cultivar [92, 93] and it has recently been suggested to act via dual cellular mechanisms to lower blood glucose levels. These include competitively preventing the binding of glucose to serum albumin and inhibiting the conversion of complex carbohydrate to glucose [93].
It is interesting that tulsi has important clinical effects across diverse therapeutic domains, all of which may have inflammation as an underlying factor. The anti-inflammatory effects of tulsi have been previously documented in many in vitro and in vivo studies [43, 85–88], and it is likely that tulsi has multiple bioactive secondary metabolites that act alone or synergistically to inhibit inflammatory pathways. There is also evidence to suggest that tulsi may be useful as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy and nutrition in the treatment of metabolic disorders thereby reducing the need for high doses of drugs, which may have adverse effects. The clinical effects demonstrated in the reviewed studies suggest tulsi may have an important role in addressing other inflammatory disorders and that the Ayurvedic tradition of consuming tulsi on a daily basis may be an effective lifestyle measure to address many modern chronic diseases.
The most commonly used part of the tulsi plant is the leaf (dried or fresh), which is known to contain several bioactive compounds including eugenol, ursolic acid, β-caryophyllene, linalool, and 1,8-cineole [89–91]. Eugenol has been found to be the major bioactive metabolite common to all three tulsi varieties with varying amounts in each cultivar [92, 93] and it has recently been suggested to act via dual cellular mechanisms to lower blood glucose levels. These include competitively preventing the binding of glucose to serum albumin and inhibiting the conversion of complex carbohydrate to glucose [93].
School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
*Marc M. Cohen: ua.ude.timr@nehoc.cram
Academic Editor: Daniela Rigano
Copyright © 2017 Negar Jamshidi and Marc M. Cohen.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
*Marc M. Cohen: ua.ude.timr@nehoc.cram
Academic Editor: Daniela Rigano
Copyright © 2017 Negar Jamshidi and Marc M. Cohen.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.