Holy basil has significant anti-stress and antioxidant activity. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Fresh leaves of Ocimum sanctum (O. sanctum) were evaluated for antistress activity against experimentally induced oxidative stress in albino rabbits. Animals of the test group received supplementation of 2 g fresh leaves of O. sanctum per rabbit for 30 days. Anemic hypoxia was induced chemically by injecting the rabbits with 15 mg sodium nitrite per 100 g body weight intraperitoneally. Results indicated that O. sanctum administration blunted the changes in cardiorespiratory (BP, HR, RR) parameters in response to stress. A significant (p < 0.01) decrease in blood sugar level was observed after 30 days of dietary supplementation of O. sanctum leaves. Significant increase (p < 0.05) in the levels of enzymatic (superoxide dismutase) and nonenzymatic (reduced glutathione) antioxidants was observed in the test group after the treatment with O. sanctum. Oxidative stress led to a lesser depletion of reduced glutathione (28.80%) and plasma superoxide dismutase (23.04%) in O. sanctum-treated rabbits. The results of this study suggest that the potential antistressor activity of O. sanctum is partly attributable to its antioxidant properties.