Available online at www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com Scholars Research Library J. Nat. Prod. Plant Resour., 2012, 2 (1):39-48 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN : 2231 – 3184 CODEN (USA): JNPPB7 39 Scholars Research Library Diversified potentials of Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi): An exhaustive survey 1 Ekta Singh, 1 Sheel Sharma, 2 Jaya Dwivedi and 2 Swapnil Sharma 1 Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition, Banasthali University, Banasthali (Raj), India 2 Dept. of Chemistry, Banasthali University, Banasthali (Raj), India 3 Dept. of Pharmacy, Banasthali University, Banasthali (Raj), India ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Ocimum sanctum (also tulsi, tulasī, or Holy Basil is an aromatic plant in the family Lamiaceae which is native throughout the old world tropics and widespread as a cultivated plant and an escaped weed. Tulsi is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes, and for its essential oil. It is widely known across South Asia as a medicinal plant and an herbal tea, commonly used in Ayurveda, and has an important role within the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism, in which devotees perform worship involving tulsi plants or leaves. Eugenol (l-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. In the present review, efforts have been made to sum up different aspects of scientific studies on this medicinal plant. Scientific evidences are available on various medicinal aspects i.e. antimicrobial, adaptogenic, antidiabetic, hepato- protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, radioprotective, immunomodulatory, neuro- protective, cardio-protective, etc. Thus, Ocimum sanctum contain several bioactive compounds may contribute to the health effects and are easily available for consumption to increase the nutritional status as well as act as safe guarding against possible deficiencies. Key words: Eugenol, Phytochemicals, Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Stress. ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Plants are one of the most important sources of medicines. Today the large numbers of drugs in use are derived from plants, like morphine from papaver somniferum, aswagandha from withania somnifera, ephedrine from ephedra vulgaris, atropine from atropa belladonna, reserpine from roulphia serpentina etc. The medicinal plants are rich in secondary metabolites and essential oils of therapeutic importance. The important advantages claimed for therapeutic uses of medicinal plants in various ailments are their safety besides being economical, effective and their easy availability [1-2]. Because of these advantages the medicinal plants have been widely used by the traditional medical practitioners in their day to day practice. According to a survey of World