Basil essential oil
- Type
- Essential oil
- Botanical name
- Ocimum basilicum
- INCI name
- Ocimum Basilicum Oil
- Other names
- sweet basil oil
The plant
Sweet basil is an aromatic annual or short-lived perennial herb up to 1 m tall, with square, much-branched stems and opposite leaves dotted with glands. It probably comes from western Asia, was already grown in Egypt 3000 years ago and is now cultivated throughout the world. The leaves contain about 1.5% volatile oil, which gives them their flavour and scent.[1]
How the oil is made
For oil, the plants are cut in full bloom, usually left to dry in the field for one to three days and then steam-distilled. A hectare gives about 40 kg of oil. The plant is grown commercially mainly around the Mediterranean, in the United States, on Madagascar and neighbouring islands, in India and in Thailand; world production of the oil was estimated at 42.5 tonnes in 1992.[1]
Types and composition
Basil oils differ with the variety of the plant and where it is grown. Recurring composition patterns are called chemotypes and are named after their main component; the four main ones are rich in estragole, linalool, methyl eugenol or methyl cinnamate.[3] Two types are common in the trade:
- Sweet or French basil oil, the European type, contains mainly linalool (35–50%) and estragole (15–25%; also called methyl chavicol)[3] and no camphor. It is pale yellow to almost colourless and smells sweet-spicy, slightly green and fresh, with a faint balsamic, woody note and a lasting sweetness.[4]
- Réunion or "exotic" basil oil consists mainly of estragole, 80% or more,[3] and contains little or no linalool. It smells coarser and herbal, slightly of camphor at first, with the aniseed-like sweetness of estragole.[4]
Other basils give oils rich in methyl cinnamate, which smell sweeter and fruitier, or rich in phenols.[4] Single cultivars can be dominated by one compound: oil of the cultivar 'Maria Bonita' has been reported with 78% linalool, and oil of 'Sweet Dani' with 68% citral.[5]
Scent and uses
The oil is strong: only very small amounts are needed in foods and perfumes.[1] In perfumery, sweet basil oil has for decades been a classic material of perfumes of the "Origan" type, and it adds notes to chypre and green perfumes.[4]
In food, oil and oleoresin from the leaves flavour baked goods, sauces, pickles, vinegar, meat products and chartreuse-type liqueurs. The oil is also used in cosmetics and in dental and oral care products, and it repels insects such as flies.[1]
In aromatherapy the oil is described as stimulating and best used in the morning and during the day. It is rarely used alone, because it easily takes over a blend.[6]
Quality and adulteration
Linalool is sometimes added to the cheaper Réunion type to imitate sweet basil oil. The result is a poor substitute that is easily recognised.[1]
Safety
Estragole is one of the essential oil components generally regarded as carcinogens. The evidence comes from rodents, which appear to be more susceptible to liver cancer than people. The human liver also breaks estragole down more efficiently than the rat liver.[2]
How much of the oil may go on the skin therefore depends on its type. For example, Canada's rules for licensed natural health products allow basil oil on the skin as a fragrance ingredient. The limit is 0.1% for the estragole type, 3.3% for the linalool type and 15% for the methyl cinnamate type.[7]
Basil oil of the estragole type is one of the oils to avoid throughout pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding.[8]
Products containing it
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 N. O. Aguilar, Pham Truong Thi Tho and L. P. A. Oyen, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA), Ocimum basilicum L., 1999.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robert Tisserand, Proof of Safety: Challenges Facing Essential Oil Therapy. AIA Conference 2007.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 A. Muráriková et al., Characterization of Essential Oil Composition in Different Basil Species and Pot Cultures by a GC-MS Method. Molecules 2017, 22(7), 1221.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Steffen Arctander, Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Elizabeth, NJ, 1960: Basil Oil.
- ↑ A. S. da Costa et al., The Impact of Hybridization on the Volatile and Sensorial Profile of Ocimum basilicum L.. The Scientific World Journal 2014, 824594, doi 10.1155/2014/824594.
- ↑ AromaWeb, Basil Essential Oil. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Health Canada, Natural Health Products Ingredients Database, Ocimum Basilicum Oil. Page modified 1 March 2019.
- ↑ National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA), Safety. Retrieved 8 November 2026.