Use Of Ocimum basilicum

(Kemangi:indonesian)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.45m by 0.3m.

It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Seed.

Edible Uses: Condiment; Drink; Tea.

Leaves and flowers - raw or cooked[4, 21, 27]. Used as a flavouring or as a spinach[14, 61], they are used especially with tomato dishes, pasta sauces, beans, peppers and aubergines[238]. The leaves are normally used fresh but can also be dried for winter use[21]. A very pleasant addition to salads[K], the leaves have a delightful scent of cloves[4]. Use the leaves sparingly in cooking because the heat concentrates the flavour[244]. A refreshing tea is made from the leaves[21]. The seed can be eaten on its own or added to bread dough as a flavouring[183]. When soaked in water it becomes mucilaginous and can be made into a refreshing beverage called 'sherbet tokhum' in the Mediterranean[183]. An essential oil obtained from the plant is used as a food flavouring in mustards, sauces, vinegars etc[57, 105, 183]

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antibacterial; Antispasmodic; Aromatherapy; Aromatic; Carminative; Digestive; Galactogogue; Ophthalmic; Stomachic; Tonic.

Sweet basil has been used for thousands of years as a culinary and medicinal herb. It acts principally on the digestive and nervous systems, easing flatulence, stomach cramps, colic and indigestion[254]. The leaves and flowering tops are antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, digestive, galactogogue, stomachic and tonic[7, 14, 21, 178, 218]. They are taken internally in the treatment of feverish illnesses (especially colds and influenza), poor digestion, nausea, abdominal cramps, gastro-enteritis, migraine, insomnia, depression and exhaustion[238]. Externally, they are used to treat acne, loss of smell, insect stings, snake bites and skin infections[238]. The leaves can be harvested throughout the growing season and are used fresh or dried[238]. The mucilaginous seed is given in infusion in the treatment of gonorrhoea, dysentery and chronic diarrhoea[240]. It is said to remove film and opacity from the eyes[218]. The root is used in the treatment of bowel complaints in children[240]. Extracts from the plant are bactericidal and are also effective against internal parasites[218, 238]. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. Its keyword is 'Clearing'[210].

Other Uses

Essential; Repellent; Strewing.

An essential oil obtained from the whole plant is used as a food flavouring and in perfumery, dental applications etc[46, 57, 61, 105, 171, 238]. An average yield of 1.5% essential oil is obtained from the flowering tops[7]. When applied to the skin it makes a good mosquito repellent[7]. The growing or dried plant is an effective insect repellent. It is a good plant to grow in the home, where it repels flies, or in the greenhouse where it can keep all manner of insect pests away from nearby plants[14, 20, K]. It has been used in the past as a strewing herb[201].

Scented Plants

Leaves: Fresh Crushed Dried

The leaves are strongly aromatic. There are many named forms with different scents.

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich light well-drained to dry soil[1, 27, 238]. Requires a sunny sheltered position if grown outdoors[52]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5 to 8[238]. Sweet basil is commonly grown as an aromatic culinary and medicinal herb in warm temperate and tropical climates. There are a number of different constituents that make up the essential oil in basil, and the proportions of these vary considerably between plants growing in different regions of the world[238]. From this variety many named varieties with differing flavour characteristics have been developed[46, 238]. Basil is a perennial plant in the tropics, but it is frost tender and needs to be grown as a half-hardy annual in temperate zones[142]. It is a very good companion plant to grow in the house or greenhouse, its aromatic foliage helping to reduce problems caused by insect pests[K]. It requires a good hot summer in Britain if it is to do well outdoors[K]. Sweet basil is a good companion plant for tomatoes but it grows badly with rue and sage[14, 18, 20, 201]. When grown near raspberries it can retard their fruiting[201].

Propagation

Seed - sow mid to late spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination is usually free and quick, prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing basil outdoors, plant out after the last expected frosts.

Use of sirih leaves

Among the herbal "tricks" used by Indonesian women to assure that their husbands have an optimal sexual experience, sirih leaves are the most common. Sirih leaves are used both topically (to bathe the female genitals) and orally, as a tea.

When used to bathe the female genitals, a number of leaves are boiled in hot water. This boiled extract of sirih leaves is added to some 5 liters of water in a flat basin. Women, especially after having given birth, sit in this weak sirih solution for about half an hour, letting the sirih water enter and wash their vaginal canals.

There are several effects of this bathing. One is that the skin of their vaginal canals wrinkles for several hours. This effect is only present on mucous membrane skin, such as it exists in the vaginal canal of women. The effect can be compared to drinking unsweetened lemon juice, and keeping this unsweetened lemon juice in the mouth for some time. The mucous membranes of the mouth with contract and wrinkle, and even cause a contraction of the muscle tissue below the skin, thus effectively shrinking the size of the oral cavity.

However, the effect of sirih on the mucous membranes of the vaginal cavity is not as crude as the effect of lemon juice in one's mouth. The crude wrinkling caused in one's mouth would actually injure a vaginal canal, or make it prone to injuries once penetrated by a male organ.

Furthermore, the vaginal mucous membrane and muscular tissue contraction caused by sirih leaves lasts for many hours. Just like a local anesthesia with lidocaine persists for quite some time after it has penetrated tissue, so doos the shrinkage effected by the active ingredients of sirih leaves.

However, sirih leaves are special not just because of the vaginal contraction they effect for hours, but also because of the delicate smell they attach to the female genitals. This is not a chemical smell like the one from cologne sprays for female genitals, or strawberry-flavored condoms. Rather, the smell brought about by sirih leave baths can best be compared to the genital smell and flavor of a woman who has never had sexual intercourse. It is a soft, tender smell and taste that actually cannot be attributed by a man to any perfume. The smell and taste are just entirely natural.

In the Indonesian countryside, almost all women take sirih leave baths after childbirth, to avoid both, vaginal looseness and the sour and rancid smell that a vagina may exhibit after exposure to all kind of environments that destroy the vaginal flora: uterine discharges, menstrual blood, placental fluid, and, last not least, semen.

Indonesian wives consider the use of sirih leaves an essential part of their long-term strategies to bind a man in a lifelong relationship. Through the use of sirih leaves, they want to avoid that a husband looks for another, younger woman, because he finds fault with his wife's genital apparatus.