Tulsi

How should I select a Tulsi product for mood and cognition?

It is not known which ingredients in Tulsi are the most relevant for its effects on mood and cognition. This makes informed product selection decisions almost impossible. However, there are some things to consider that can increase your chances of finding a safe and effective Tulsi product:

• Find a product with a certificate of analysis verifying that the product contains safe levels of heavy metals and other potentially dangerous chemicals
• Find a product as similar as possible to those used in studies in humans
  • Look for standardized amounts of active ingredients that are likely of relevance to Tulsi's effects on mood and cognition (see next question below)
  • If available, use product forms similar to those used in studies on the effects of Tulsi on mood and cognition in humans (see the question after the next question below)

A certificate of analysis is necessary for you to be confident that the product you are going to use will be safe. You should not stop searching for a product until you have found one which has a certificate of analysis. There is no way to be 100% certain that the company you are buying a product from has not faked a certificate of analysis, but them providing you with one significantly increases their legal and financial commitment to the chemical purity and identity of the product, which should make you trust them more.

Tulsi product selection is not easy because of the lack of transparency and chemical testing by most supplement companies.

When it comes to the active ingredients and product forms, that is not as crucial. Sure, you may purchase an ineffective product if you buy one without the relevant active ingredients, or if you buy a form of Tulsi product which does not have the effects you are looking for, but ultimately safety is more important than efficacy. The reason we say it's not crucial to find a product with standardized amounts of active ingredients or the exact same form as those used in studies in humans is that it is very hard to find such products as a consumer. Most products will contain a certain amount of the relevant active ingredients and varying effects on your mood and cognition. If you cannot find a product of the exact same form and with the exact same amount of active ingredients as those used in the studies, you may want to buy another product and carefully self-experiment with it to see if it has any effects.

Which are the active ingredients in Tulsi?

Some of the ingredients likely involved in the effects of Tulsi on mood and cognition are:

• Ursolic acid [3]
  • More than 2.7% of the Tulsi product given to human participants in one study consisted of Ursolic acid [1]
• Triterpene acids
  • More than 2.5% of the Tulsi product given to human participants in one study consisted of Triterpene acids [2]
• Rosmarinic acid
  • More than 0.2% of the Tulsi product given to human participants in one study consisted of Rosmarinic acid [5]
• 4-allyl-1-O-beta-D-glucopyronosyl-2-hydroxybenzene [7]
  • More than 0.1% of the Tulsi product given to human participants in one study consisted of 4-allyl-1-O-β-D-glucopyronosyl-2-hydroxybenzene [6]
• Ocimumosides A [9]
• Ocimumosides B [10]
• Ocimarin [11]
• Apigenin [12]
• Apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside [13]
• Apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronic acid [14]
• Apigenin-7- O-beta- d-glucuronic acid 6''-methyl ester [15]
• Luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronic acid 6''-methyl ester [16]
• Luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside [17]
• Luteolin-5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside [18]

Which forms of Tulsi for mood and cognition have been studied in humans?

Two forms of Tulsi have been studied in humans:

• OciBest, an extract of the whole plant of Tulsi [8]
• 70% ethanolic extract of Tulsi, prepared from dried leaves [4]