Ba sil and its variou s species are known to ha ve an effect on common cold and possess immunomodulatory properties. This paper describes a clinical trial of a herbal formulation, Panchtulasi drops in acute common cold; the formulation consists of essential oils of five species of ocimum, namely; Ocimum sanctum Linn., Ocimum basilicum Linn., Ocimum gratissimum Linn., Ocimum citriodorum Linn. and Ocimum canum Linn.This was an open label, three arm Phase II study to determine the safety and effica cy of Panchatulasi drops in patients with acute common cold. The primary endpoint was reduction in symptoms of cold and number of days of illness. This was assessed using SF-8 and WURSS21 questionnaires. The secondary endpoint was changes in serum interleukin-8 and neutrophil count. The study duration was 8 days with telephonic follow-up on 10 th day. A total of 60 patients were randomized to treatment, placebo and a control (standard medication) in a radio of 2:1:1.The symptom severity, quality of life and number of days of illness measured by questionnaire was significantly reduced in the treatment arm between baseline and day 4 (p<0.05). The physical component score and overall health score of the SF-8 questionnaire also improved considerably in the treatment arm compared to placebo and control arms between baseline and day 4. However, mental component score did not improve significantly until day 6. Concentration of IL-8 did not show any statistically significant change in any of the study arms due to high variability. Neutrophil count, on the other hand, decreased in the treatment arm (p=0.0153) compared to placebo and control arms where it increased. Panchatulasi drops is an effective herbal remedy for common cold and can be used as an alternative to current treatments. There was a significant reduction in days of illness, severity of symptoms, and improvement in quality of life compared to placebo and control groups.

Basil has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda for its diverse healing properties. The juice of the leaves have strong expectorant properties, and is used in ailments of the respiratory system. This study investigated the immunomodulatory and antibacterial properties of, Panchatulasi drops, a unique blend of essential oils from 5 different species of basil. The effect of the essential oils on proinflammatory mediators (IL-6 and TNF-), and cell viability was determined in a dose dependent manner, using a rat splenocyte model. Immunomodulation via lipoxygenase inhibition was investigated, using lipoxygenase inhibitor screening kit. MIC against Streptococcus pneumoniae strains was determined by the broth dilution method with Cation adjusted MuellerHinton broth (CAMHB), and antibacterial efficacy was also tested using a neutropenic mouse model of lung infection against ATCC 700904 Streptococcus pneumoniae strain.Panchatulasi drops demonstrated inhibition of IL-6 and lipoxygenase enzyme. It resulted in increased levels of TNF- in a dose dependent manner in non-cytotoxic doses (up to 10µg/ml), although overall concentration decreased between 24 to 72 h. after LPS induction. The extracts exhibited good antimicrobial activity with an MIC of 32 µg/ml and bacterial load reduction of 6.45 ± 0.55 at 150 mg/kg bw, compared to 5.32 ± 0.62 of amoxicillin (p<0.005). These studies provide significant evidence of immunomodulatory and antimicrobial properties of Panchatulasi drops. The formulation could, therefore, be developed as a potential therapy in inflammatory conditions such as respiratory infections and mucosal injury.

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