Medicinal Applications, Chemical Compositions, and Biological Effects of Algerian Ocimum basilicum L.var Genovese with the Conversion of Experimental Doses to Humans

Introduction: This paper aims to analyze the medicinal uses of Ocimum basilicum L.var Genovese (basil) in western Algeria and its effectiveness.Materials and Methods: For the experiments, ۱۵۴ structured questionnaires were collected to list the medicinal uses of basil. The essential oil of O. basilicum (EOB) obtained by hydro-distillation was analyzed by the GC/MS. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts (EEB and AEB) were analyzed by HPLC. The antioxidant activity was measured by DPPH assays and the antimicrobial activity was measured against five microbes. For the in vivo study, Swiss albinos mice were used to determine the toxicity using Lorke’s method. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined using the Carrageenan method. The experimental doses were converted from mice to humans using the Km factor.Results:  The ethnobotanical study indicates that local people use basil to treat diseases and health problems (۵۰% for inflammation and ۳۸.۱۱% for microbial diseases). The results also show that EOB contains ۴۱.۳% linalool, whereas ethanolic extract contains benzoic acid (۵۰.۸۶ mg/g). The IC۵۰ value is ۵۵۶, ۸۷۸.۷, and ۹۶۲.۳ µg/ml for EOB, EEB, and AEB, respectively. The EOB and AEB inhibit the positive Gram bacteria and yeast; the EEA inhibits the negative Gram. The LD۵۰ is ۴۰۰, ۴۷۰, and >۵۰۰۰ mg/kg for AEB, EOB, and EEB respectively. The results of the anti-inflammatory test highlight ۷۶.۳۳, ۷۱.۰, and ۶۰.۴۳% inhibition of edema at a ۱۰۰ mg/kg dose for EOB, AEB, and EEB, respectively.Conclusion: The Algerian basil can be considered as an antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory.

Keywords:

anti-inflammatory , Antimicrobial , basil , ethnobotany , Human Dose , Toxicity