REVIEW ARTICLE Journal of Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology;2015;1(1):21-23 21 TULSI-A PROMISING HERB IN DENTISTRY Akhilanand Chaurasia Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, King George Medical University, Lucknow E-mail: chaurasiaakhilanand49@gmail.com ABSTRACT: The plants are used for medicinal purpose since ancient times. In ancient India the traditional medicine practitioners observed tulsi as greatest healing herb with high therapeutic potential. The tulsi plant is an erect softy hairy aromatic herb or under shrub of labiatae family belonging to genus ‘Ocimum’ and is found throughout India. Tulsi has been proven for management of many medical disorders due to its properties like expectorant, analgesic, anticancer, antiasthmatic, antiemetic, diaphoretic, antidiabetic, antifertility, hepatoprotective, hypotensive, hyolipidimic and antistress agent by many research studies. Tulsi can be promising herb in treatment of many oral disorders due to its anti-inflamatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and immuno-modulatory properties however more research and studies are needed to establish this miraculous herb as treatment modality in dentistry. This paper focuses on dimension and scope of Tulsi in management of oral disease. Keywords: Tulsi, Ocimum sanctum, Herbal extract, Medicinal Plants INTRODUCTION The plants are used for medicinal purpose since ancient times. The history of therapeutic use of plants is as old as 4000–5000 B.C. The Chinese were the first to use natural herbal preparations as medicines 1 .The tulsi in sanskrit means ‘incomparable or matchless’. In ancient India the traditional medicine practitioners observed tulsi as greatest healing herb with high therapeutic potential 2 . The botanical name of tulsi is ‘Ocimum sanctum Linn’. In hindi it is known as ‘Tulsi’ and ‘Holy Basil’ in English 3 . The tulsi plant is an erect softy hairy aromatic herb or under shrub of labiatae family belonging to genus ‘Ocimum’ and is found throughout India having high therapeutic potential 1,3 . Tulsi is known in different regions, languages and dialects of India by a variety of other names such as Tulasi, Surasah, Ajaka, Parnasa, Manjari, Haripriya and Bhutagni. Several species of tulsi has been seen worldwide. In India most commonly cultivated species is Ocimum sanctum Linn. There is two types of Ocimum sanctum Linn. The first type is green leaves type known as sri tulsi and second is purple leaves type known as krishna Tulsi 3 . Other species of genus Ocimum which have high therapeutic potential and cultivated worldwide are Ocimum gratissium (Ram Tulsi), Ocimum canum (Dulal Tulsi), Ocimum basilicum (Ban Tulsi), Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Ocimum ammericanum, Ocimum camphora and Ocimum micranthum 4,5,6,7 . In Ayurveda tulsi has been well documented for its therapeutic potentials and described as Dashemani Shwasaharni (antiasthmatic) and antikaphic drugs 1 . The leaves, stem, flower, root, seeds and even whole plant of ocimum sanctum Linn is used in traditional medicine. Tulsi is often enjoyed as a simple herbal tea and is frequently blended with other herbs and spices for various medicinal and culinary purposes 7 . The Indian scientists and researchers have carried out several studies to find out the therapeutic potential of Ocimum sanctum Linn 5,8 . CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF TULSI 1. Eugenol & Essential Oils - Ocimum sanctum L. (Tulsi) and Ocimum basilicum (Ban Tulsi) are cheaper sources for commercial extraction of eugenol. The aerial parts (leaves, flowers & stem) of tulsi contain essential oils with good percentage of eugenol. The leaves of ocimum sanctum L. are chief source of essential oils followed by the inflorescence and stem however flowers contain more essential oils than leaves in ocimum basilicum. The roots and fruits of these plants are almost completely devoid of any essential oil. The essential oil extracted from the tulsi leaves by steam distillation largely contains eugenol. The other important constituents of the essential oil are carvacrol, methyl eugenol, caryophyllene. To produce eugenol-rich ocimum variety scientists of Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Jammu have developed a hybrid strain of ocimum gratissimum L. using recurrent selection (FCA) technique of breeding and named it as “Clocimum”. This “Clocimum” variety contains 60–65% eugenol. Another heterotic F1 strain of ocimum has been developed by Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) and named as “Clocimum-3c”. This is an improved eugenol-rich ocimum variety containing 90–95% eugenol 8,9 . 2. Carracrol and tetpene & Sesquiterpene b caryophylline 10 3. Linalool 10 4. Polyphenol rosmarinic acid 10 5. Vitamin A, C, Zinc & Iron 10 THERAPEUTIC USES OF TULSI IN DENTISTRY Tulsi is generally considered as an “Elixir of Life”. Traditionally tulsi has been employed in hundreds of different formulations for the treatment