basil

basil

Herbal medicine
A bushy annual culinary and medicinal herb that contains camphor, estragol, eugenol, linalol, lineol, tannins, and thymol; basil is antipyretic and carminative, and has been used for abdominal bloating, cramps, diarrhoea, and nausea. It is also grown indoors in southern Europe as a fly repellant.

bas·il

(bā'zil)

(Ocimum basilicum, O. sanctum) Herb widely used in Meditarranean cuisine (e.g., pesto). Studies confirm utility in lowering glucose levels; also purported value as an analgesic, antioxidant, and antiulcerative.

[L. basilicum, fr. G. basilikon, royal]