Nutritional Value and Health Benefits of Scent Leave

An insight on Scent Leave

1. NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF SCENT LEAVE ( Ocimum gratissimum ) BY JIMOH ABDULAZEEZ 2020/HSLT/MCB/015 BEING A RESEARCH SEMINAR SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY (SLT) MICROBIOLOGY OPTION, SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCES, KOGI STATE POLYTECHNIC, LOKOJA.

2. INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION The plant Ocimum gratissimum (scent leave) is one of those plants widely known and used for both medicinal and nutritional purposes. It is a perennial plant that is widely distributed in the tropics of Africa and Asia. It belongs to the family lamiaceae and it is the most abundant of the genus Ocimum . The common names of the plant are scent leave, The plant belong to the genus of Ocimum Lamiaceae (basil) and a species o f Ocimum gratissimum (lauraceous African).

3. ORIGIN AND HABITAT Ocimum gratissimum also known as clove basil, African basil and in Hawaii as wild basil, is a species of Ocimum . It is a native to African, Madagascar, southern Asia and the Bismarck Archipelago and neutralized in Polynesia, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, West Indies, Brazil and Bolivia. It can also be found cultivated as an ornamental and hedge plant in home gardens ( Orwa et al , 2009; PROSEA, 2018; Useful tropical plants, 2018 ).

4. Figure 1.1 DIAGRAM OF Ocimum gratissimum

5. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE Economic importances of Ocimum gratissimum are numerous; some of which are stated below; Maintenance of the eyes Improves heart function Lower blood sugar e.t.c .

6. TRADITIONAL USES In traditional medicine, the leaves have been used as; A general tonic and anti diarrheal agent For the treatment of conjunctivitis by instilling directly into the eyes; The leaf oil when mixed with alcohol is applied as a lotion for skin infection and taken internally for bronchitis. The plant has a wide application in the traditional system of medicine to cure various ailments. The plant produces essential oil with antibiotics, antibacterial, anti-diarrheal, anti-diabetic, anti- carcinogenic, insecticidal, anti- mutagenic and anti- urolithiatic properties

7. PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF Ocimum gratissimum Presently there is an increasing interest worldwide in herbal medicines accompanied by increased laboratory investigation into the pharmacological properties of the bioactive ingredients and their ability to treat various diseases (Muller, et al , 2004 ). Sofowora reported that the leaves extracts of Ocimum gratissimum plant are used by different tribes for different purposes in West Africa and Nigeria ( Sofowora , 2018). The pharmacological activities of Ocimum gratissimum have been reported by various researchers, including; antioxidant activity ( Akinmoladun , et al , 2017) antibacterial activity (Nakamura et al , 2019; Melo et al , 2019) antifungal activity (Lima, et al , 2019) anti-diarrhea activity ( Sofowora , 2018; Ezekwesili , et al , 2014).

8. ANTI MUTAGENIC ACTIVITY Obaseik - Ebor (2019) and his colleagues investigated the anti-mutagenic activity of O. gratissimum leaves extract along with other three edible Vegetables plants O. gratissimum showed inhibitory activity against S. typhimurium ( Obaseiki et al , 2019 )

9. EFFECTS ON NERVOUS SYSTEM Freire and his colleagues studied the effect of the eugenol , a type of essential oils isolated from O. gratissimum on the central nervous system (CNS) by evaluating The open- field and rota - rod tests; sleeping time induced by sodium pentobarbital (PBS, 40mg/kg, intra – peritoneally , 1-p) Anticonvulsant activity against seizures induced by both pentylenetetrazole ( PTZ;85mg/kg. S.c ) Maximal electroshock (MES, 50ma,0.11s) ( Monga et al , 2017). It was reported that the essential oils effectively increased the sleeping duration and protected the animals against tonic seizures induced by electroshock .

10. ANTI- CONVULSANT ACTIVITY The experimental models used to evaluate the anticonvulsant activity, MES and PTZ tests, are assumed to identify anticonvulsant drugs effective against generalized tonic clonic partial seizures, and generalized clonic seizures respectively. The anticonvulsant activity observed in the essential oil from O.gratissimum extracted in the spring could be also related to the higher amount of sesquiterpenes .

11. ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY Extracts from the leaves of O. gratissimum were investigated for their phytochemical constituent and for anti-oxidant activity. Test for tannins, steroids, terpenoids , flavonoids and cardiac glycosides were positive in both methanolic and aqueous extracts. The methanolic extract of O. gratissimum had a DPPH scavenging activity of 84.6% at 250ug/ml and a reductive potential of 0.77 at 100ug/ml. These values were comparable with those of garlic acid, 91.4% at 250ug/ml and ascorbic acid 0.79 at 60ug/ml as standard for DPPH scavenging activity and reductive potential, respectively. These findings suggest the rich phyochemical content of O. gratissimum and it’s good antioxidant activity ( Akinomoladun et al , 2007 )

12. EFFECT ON GASTRO INTESTINAL TRACT Madeira and his colleagues reported that; the essential oil of O. gratissimum relaxed the smooth muscle of the small intestine by its direct effect on the smooth muscle of the ileum which may underline the therapeutic effect of the plant and is consistent with the popular use of the plant to treat gastrointestinal disorder (Madeira et al , 2012).

13. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSION Ocimum gratissimum leaves contain phytochemicals such as flavonoid, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides and saponins . The presence of alkaloids suggest it’s antimicrobial effect. The presence of flavonoids and saponins serve as an anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agent respectively. The plant containing all these phytochemicals shows that it is highly medicinal and good for human consumption .

14. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that: The plant should be cultivated in residential compounds and schools where it can be easily collected for use. It should be used as remedy to cure some illness and diseases such as malaria, diabetics and pharmaceutical drugs. More research should be carried out on the root and stem of the plant to determine its mineral content.

15. THANKS FOR LISTENING