The next Series of studies are Antimicrobial agents on various herbs. I thought that I'd start out with Holy Basil since it is a pretty amazing herb and many studies have been done on it. The below is from the same source that collected scientific abstracts. The last 2 studies don't have anything to do with a microbial study but on misc studies on Holy Basil that I thought were rather interesting.


http://www.immunice.com/clinical_studies/holy_basil

Excerpt from this study:

J Basic Microbiol. 2005;45(2):106/14.
Effect of certain bioactive plant extracts on clinical isolates of beta/lactamase producing methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Aqil F, Khan MS, Owais M, Ahmad I. - Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh//202002 India.

The extracts from the leaves of Ocimum sanctum showed better activity against the three MRSA strains. On the other hand, extracts from Allium sativum (bulb) and Citrus sinensis (rind) exhibited little or no activity, against MRSA strains.

PMID: 15812867 [PubMed / indexed for MEDLINE]
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Indian J Exp Biol. 2005 Sep;43(9):835/7.

Antibacterial activity of Ocimum sanctum L. fixed oil
Singh S, Malhotra M, Majumdar DK.
Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, University of Delhi,
Pushp Vihar, New Delhi 110 017, India.

Ocimum sanctum fixed oil showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus pumilus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, where S. aureus was the most sensitive organism. Sesame and soyabean oils also showed moderate activity against S. aureus. Higher content of linolenic acid in O. sanctum fixed oil could contribute towards its antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity combined with anti/inflammatory and analgesic activities of the oil, could make it useful in inflammatory disorder resulting from
staphylococcal infection.

Publication Types: Research Support, Non/U.S. Gov't

PMID: 16187537 [PubMed / indexed for MEDLINE]
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Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2005 Apr;49(2):125/31.

Therapeutic uses of Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi) with a note on eugenol and its pharmacological actions: a short review.

Prakash P, Gupta N.
Department of Biochemistry, Seema Dental College & Hospital, Barrage Road,
Rishikesh, Dehradoon / 249 203, Uttranchal.

The medicinal plants are widely used by the traditional medical practitioners for curing various diseases in their day to day practice. In traditional systems of medicine, different parts (leaves, stem, flower, root, seeds and even whole plant) of Ocimum sanctum Linn (known as Tulsi in Hindi), a small herb seen throughout India, have been recommended for the treatment of bronchitis, bronchial asthma, malaria, diarrhea, dysentery, skin diseases, arthritis, painful eye diseases, chronic fever, insect bite etc. The Ocimum sanctum L. has also been suggested to possess antifertility, anticancer, antidiabetic, antifungal, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antiemetic, antispasmodic, analgesic, adaptogenic and diaphoretic actions. Eugenol (1/hydroxy/2/methoxy/4/allylbenzene), the active constituent present in Ocimum sanctum L., has been found to be largely responsible for the therapeutic potentials of Tulsi. Although because of its great therapeutic potentials and wide occurrence in India the practitioners of traditional systems of medicine have been using Ocimum sanctum L. for curing various ailments, a rational approach to this traditional medical practice with modern system of medicine is, however, not much available. In order to establish the therapeutic uses of Ocimum sanctum L. in modern medicine, in last few decades several Indian scientists and researchers have studied the pharmacological effects of steam distilled, petroleum ether and benzene extracts of various parts of Tulsi plant and eugenol on immune system, reproductive system, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, gastric system, urinary system and blood biochemistry and have described the therapeutic significance of Tulsi in management of various ailments. These pharmacological studies have established a scientific basis for therapeutic uses of this plant.

Publication Types: Review

PMID: 16170979 [PubMed / indexed for MEDLINE]
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J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Jun 14;54(12):4378/82.

Characterization of the volatile pattern and antioxidant capacity of essential
oils from different species of the genus Ocimum.

Trevisan MT, Vasconcelos Silva MG, Pfundstein B, Spiegelhalder B, Owen RW.
Division of Toxicology and Cancer Risk Factors, German Cancer Research Center,
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D/69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

The antioxidant capacity of essential oils obtained by steam hydrodistillation from five species of the genus Ocimum, namely Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens, Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum gratissimum, Ocimum micranthum, and Ocimum tenuiflorum (syn. O. sanctum), were evaluated using a high/performance liquid chromatography/based hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase and the DPPH assays. The yield of oils from the leaves of the five species was variable with the greater amount obtained from Ocimum gratissimum (3.5%) and the least from Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens (0.5%). In the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase assay, strong antioxidant capacity was evident in all the oils but the greater was shown by that obtained from Ocimum tenuiflorum (syn. O. sanctum) (IC50 = 0.46 microL/mL) compared to Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens (IC50 = 1.84 microL/mL). Antioxidant capacity was positively correlated (r = 0.92, p < 0.05) with a high proportion of compounds possessing a phenolic ring such as eugenol, while a strong negative correlation (r = /0.77, p > 0.1) with other major volatiles was observed. These correlations were confirmed to a large extent in the DPPH assay. The results of a 24 h experiment with Ocimum tenuiflorum (syn. O. sanctum) shows that the antioxidant capacity factor (amount of essential oil btained x free radical scavenging capacity; mg x %/100) reaches a threshold between 10 and 12.00 h, corresponding to maximum sunlight intensity in Brasil and furthermore exhibits a clear diurnal variation. The data generated with Ocimum species indicates that essential oils obtained from various herbs and spices may have an important role to play in cancer chemoprevention, functional foods, and in the preservation of pharmacologic products.

PMID: 16756370 [PubMed / indexed for MEDLINE]
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Sex Transm Dis. 2005 Feb;32(2):106/11.

Preliminary studies on activity of Ocimum sanctum, Drynaria quercifolia, and
Annona squamosa against Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Shokeen P, Ray K, Bala M, Tandon V.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.

BACKGROUND: Despite the progressive increase of antimicrobial resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae worldwide, there are limited reports of alternative remedies from plants. GOAL: The aim of the current study was to screen 3 plants, Ocimum sanctum, Drynaria quercifolia, and Annona squamosa, for activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. STUDY: By disc diffusion method, extracts of these 3 plants were screened for activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae; their antimicrobial activity was calculated as percentage inhibition and compared with penicillin and ciprofloxacin. RESULTS: The extracts of all 3 plants caused inhibition of Neisseria gonorrhoeae clinical isolates and World Health Organization (WHO) strains, more so than the multidrug resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. CONCLUSION: Neisseria gonorrhoeae clinical isolates and WHO strains were sensitive to extracts of Ocimum sanctum, Drynaria quercifolia, and Annona squamosa. This motivates us to isolate the active component/second from the 3 plants.

PMID: 15668617 [PubMed / indexed for MEDLINE]
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J Pharmacol Sci. 2005 Aug;98(4):354/60.

Noise/stress/induced brain neurotransmitter changes and the effect of Ocimum
sanctum (Linn) treatment in albino rats.

Ravindran R, Rathinasamy SD, Samson J, Senthilvelan M.
Department of Physiology, Dr. ALM. Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical
Sciences, University of Madras, Taramani Campus, Chennai / 600 113.

In this modern world, stress and pollution are unavoidable phenomena affecting the body system at various levels. A large number of people are exposed to potentially hazardous noise levels in daily modern life, such as noise from work environments, urban traffic, and household appliances. A variety of studies have suggested an association between noise exposure and the occurrence of disorders involving extra/auditory organs such as disorders of the nervous, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems. In this study, Wistar strain albino rats were subjected to 100 dB broadband white noise, 4 h daily for 15 days. The high/pressure liquid chromatographic estimation of norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin in discrete regions of the rat brain indicates that noise stress can alter the brain biogenic amines after 15 days of stress exposure. Ocimum sanctum (OS), a medicinal herb that is widely claimed to posses antistressor activity and used extensively in the Indian system of medicine for a variety of disorders, was chosen for this study. Administration of the 70% ethanolic extract of OS had a normalizing action on discrete regions of brain and controlled the alteration in neurotransmitter levels due to noise stress, emphasizing the antistressor potential of this plant.

Publication Types:
Research Support, Non/U.S. Gov't
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Indian J Exp Biol. 2003 Nov;41(11):1329/33.

Anticonvulsant potential of holy basil, Ocimum sanctum Linn., and its cultures.

Jaggi RK, Madaan R, Singh B.
University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh
160014, India.

Callus cultures from stem of O. sanctum were induced on slightly modified Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium and supplemented with 2,4/dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4/D, 1/2 ppm) and kinetin (kn, 1 ppm). Different extractives of stem, leaf and stem callus of O. sanctum were tested for anticonvulsant activity against standard drug phenytoin using maximal electroshock (MES) model. Ethanol and chloroform extractives of stem, leaf and stem calli were effective in preventing tonic convulsions induced by transcorneal electroshock.

Publication Types: Comparative Study