Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:30 pm
Basil tea a delicious alternative
Basil is a plant grown as an annual, quite bushy. Basil is also known as basil herb, gentlemen’s herb, brain herb, Joseph’s herb, king’s balsam, king’s herb or pepper herb and is versatile in the kitchen.
Primarily basil is used in Mediterranean cuisine, it goes very well with tomatoes, pestos, pasta dishes and many other dishes
Basil was already known in ancient India and Egypt.
First the basil was probably cultivated in India. In ancient Egypt, it served as a burial gift for pharaohs, as evidenced by findings of it in Egyptian burial chambers.
But not only used as a culinary herb.
But basil can be used not only as a culinary herb, the plant is now also very popular in natural medicine as a remedy. The oils and other ingredients of basil are generally attributed anti-inflammatory, blood cleansing and nervine strengthening effect.
Other effects attributed to basil include:
- Intestinal cleansing
- Calming (insomnia)
- Antispasmodic
- Expectorant
- Analgesic (migraine, menstrual cramps)
- Diaphoretic
- Digestive (stomach and intestinal problems)
- Wound healing (grazes, insect bites)
However, basil should not be used permanently because of the harmful substance estragole. As with tarragon, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) advises that basil should only be used for seasoning in the kitchen.
Types of application of basil as a medicinal plant.
Basil can be used as basil tea, pressed juice or even for poultices.
Basil tea recipe:
Boil a handful of fresh basil leaves or three fingerfuls of dried leaves in 1 liter of water very quickly and filter immediately.
Poultices for insect bites.
Because of its high wound healing properties, basil is also excellent for insect bites. To do this, simply apply the cooled basil tea to the affected area using a cotton or linen cloth.
Grated basil leaves also help with an insect bite excellent.
Can also be used to repel flies and mosquitoes….
If you are bothered by flies and mosquitoes in your 4 walls, just put a basil plant on the windowsill, that helps… At least with me. 🙂