☯ TCM Properties
Regulates the Middle Jiao and promotes digestion; Invigorates Blood and dispels water; Opens the channels and collaterals and relieves pain; Eliminates toxins and disperses Wind
Traditional Chinese Uses
Jiu Ceng Ta ('nine-storey pagoda'), the aromatic aerial herb of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), is used as a warm, pungent Qi-regulating and aromatic herb. Entering the Stomach, Liver and Kidney, it harmonises the Middle Jiao and promotes digestion, disperses Wind and releases the exterior, invigorates Blood and moves Water, and unblocks the channels to relieve pain.
Folk and southern-Chinese practice uses it for poor appetite, epigastric and abdominal distension, indigestion and vomiting, for wind-cold colds with headache, and for irregular menstruation, traumatic injury, insect bites and swellings, taken as a warm decoction or applied fresh. As an aromatic carminative it also settles the stomach and eases bloating. Being warm and dispersing, it is used cautiously in Heat or Yin-deficiency patterns.
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Jiu Ceng Ta (九層塔, 'nine-storey pagoda') is the Chinese name for sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L. (Lamiaceae), an aromatic annual herb cultivated worldwide and naturalized in southern China and Taiwan. Plants grow 30–80 cm tall with squarish branched stems, opposite ovate green to purple leaves with serrate margins, and terminal racemes of small white to pinkish two-lipped flowers arranged in tiered whorls (hence 'nine-storey'). The aerial parts are intensely fragrant due to essential oils rich in linalool, methyl chavicol, and eugenol. In Chinese folk medicine and Taiwanese cuisine and herbalism, Jiu Ceng Ta is used as a warming, aromatic carminative for stomach upset, indigestion, common cold, irregular menstruation, and topically for snake or insect bites. Sweet basil is also a major culinary and medicinal herb in Ayurvedic and Mediterranean Western traditions.
Active Constituents
Linalool
Acyclic monoterpene alcoholConcentration: Up to ~40-55% of the essential oil in European (linalool) chemotypes
A principal aroma component of sweet basil oil. Levorotatory linalool shows antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant and sedative activity and reversibly blocks nerve excitability, contributing to basil's mild analgesic and calming effects.
Estragole (methyl chavicol)
PhenylpropanoidConcentration: Highly chemotype-dependent; up to ~40-88% of oil in methyl-chavicol chemotypes
Antispasmodic and anxiolytic-like, modulating GABAA signalling and attenuating chemically induced seizures. It is also a recognised genotoxic hepatocarcinogen in rodents at high doses, so prolonged high-dose exposure is discouraged.
Eugenol
Phenylpropanoid (phenol)Concentration: Variable; dominant constituent in eugenol chemotypes
Contributes clove-like odour and provides analgesic, local-anaesthetic, antibacterial and antioxidant actions. Eugenol also inhibits platelet aggregation, a basis for theoretical additive bleeding risk with antithrombotic drugs.
1,8-Cineole (eucalyptol)
Monoterpene oxideConcentration: ~2-10% of the essential oil
Expectorant and mucolytic with anti-inflammatory activity; supports the traditional use of basil for coughs and phlegm and adds to the oil's antimicrobial profile.
Rosmarinic acid
Phenolic acid (caffeic acid ester)Concentration: Major non-volatile polyphenol of the leaf
A potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory constituent that scavenges reactive oxygen species and inhibits pro-inflammatory mediators, underlying much of basil's antioxidant activity in aqueous/hydroalcoholic extracts.
beta-Caryophyllene
Bicyclic sesquiterpeneConcentration: Minor to moderate essential-oil component
A dietary cannabinoid that selectively agonises the CB2 receptor, producing anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects and contributing to the gastroprotective activity of basil oil.
Methyl cinnamate
Phenylpropanoid esterConcentration: Dominant in tropical (methyl-cinnamate) chemotypes
Aromatic constituent with antimicrobial and mild smooth-muscle relaxant properties; a chemotype marker rather than a universal component of the oil.
Ursolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpene acidConcentration: Minor leaf constituent
Anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and antihyperglycaemic triterpene that adds to the metabolic and anti-inflammatory activity reported for basil leaf extracts.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Anticoagulant / antiplatelet drugs (e.g., warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel)
Eugenol and other basil constituents inhibit platelet aggregation in vitro, so concentrated basil extracts or oil could theoretically add to the antithrombotic effect of these agents.
Clinical note: Culinary amounts are not a concern; monitor for bruising/bleeding if using concentrated basil supplements or essential oil with anticoagulants.
Antihypertensive drugs
Small clinical and animal studies show basil leaf can modestly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which may add to the effect of antihypertensive medication.
Clinical note: Monitor blood pressure when a standardised basil supplement is combined with antihypertensive therapy; adjust as needed.
Antidiabetic drugs (insulin, sulfonylureas, metformin)
Basil extracts can lower fasting glucose and improve lipid parameters in preclinical and small clinical work, potentially augmenting glucose-lowering medication.
Clinical note: Watch for hypoglycaemia if concentrated basil products are added to a stable antidiabetic regimen.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3-9g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Decoction / infusion
Parts: Aerial parts, Leaves, Stems
Simmer or steep the dried aerial parts (typical range 3-9 g) briefly in water; because the active volatile oils are heat-sensitive, add near the end of decoction or infuse as a covered tea to warm the Middle Jiao, promote digestion and disperse Wind.
Fresh juice / poultice (external)
Parts: Fresh leaves, Fresh aerial parts
Crush fresh basil and apply topically, or express the juice, for insect bites, sores and localised pain to invigorate Blood and relieve pain in the channels and collaterals.
Essential oil (aromatic/topical)
Parts: Flowering aerial parts
Steam-distilled basil essential oil is used diluted in a carrier oil for topical massage over painful joints or muscles. Do not ingest the concentrated oil; limit prolonged use of estragole-rich oils, and avoid in pregnancy.
Clinical Studies
A randomized double-blind active-controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of topical basil (Ocimum basilicum) oil in knee osteoarthritis
One hundred patients with knee osteoarthritis applied topical basil oil or diclofenac gel 1% three times daily for four weeks. Both groups improved significantly with no significant difference between them, indicating topical basil oil relieved pain and stiffness to a similar extent as diclofenac gel.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) to Alleviate Anxiety in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
Patients with major depressive disorder on sertraline received basil syrup (1100 mg hydroalcoholic extract nightly) or placebo for four weeks. The basil group showed significantly greater reductions in HAM-A anxiety and BDI depression scores than placebo (p < 0.001).
Historical Texts
Jiayou Bencao (Materia Medica of the Jiayou Era)
Northern Song dynasty (1061 CE)Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty (1596 CE)References
- Askari A, Hasheminasab FS, Sadeghpour O, et al.. A randomized double-blind active-controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of topical basil (Ocimum basilicum) oil in knee osteoarthritis . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2024) [DOI]
- Talaei M, Zare K, Hashemi Y, et al.. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) to Alleviate Anxiety in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial . Brain and Behavior (2025) [DOI]
- Purushothaman B, Srinivasan RP, Suganthi P, et al.. Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) - A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacological Activities and Biotechnological Development . Plants (PMC10748370) (2023) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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