This tropical plant grows as a weed and is cultivated widely whereas it is used in the culinary arts, Ayurvedic medicines, food industry as a digestive stimulant, as an aroma to improve the smell, taste and digestibility of food, multidrug ability, etc.

The presence of essential oils and volatile oil provides specific aromatic odour to Ocimum which is mostly present in the leaf. The aromatic volatile oil such as phenols, aldehydes and terpenes are present in Ocimum. It also contains glycosides, tannins, alkaloids and saponines. The essential oil from the leaves of Ocimum sanctum has been found to possess D-thujene, octane, nonane, D-pinene, E-pinene, toluene, camphene, sabinene, dimethyl benzene, myrecene, ethyl benzene, limocene, p-cymene, terpiniolene, alloocimene, butyl­benzene, D-cubebene, linalool, eugenol, methyl eugenol, E-elemene, lactate, D-terpeneol, geraneol, E-caryophyllene, iso-eugenol, nerolidol, D-guaiene, D-humulene, J-humulene, D-amorphene, isoborneol, carvacrol, borneol, D-murolene, D-selinene, E-selinene, calamene, cadinene, elemol, iedol and phenylpropanoid derivatives (eugenol, estragole, methyleugenol, chavicol, methylcinnamate). Various chemotypes of essential oil constituents from basil have been studied, viz., linalool, eugenol, methyl chavicol, methyleugenol and methyl cinnamate. It has been reported that aerial parts of the plant contain Urosolic acid, Stigmasterol, Apigenin, Chlorgenic acid, Luteolin, Isorientin, Orientin, Molludistin, Gallic acid, Triacontanol ferulate, Vitexin, Isovitexin, Aesculetin, Aesculin, Galuteolin, Circineol, Procatechuic acid, Caffiec acid and Chlorogenic. Further, Palmitric acid, Stearic acid, Linolenic acid, Oleic acid, Sitosterol and Hexourenic acid have been reported to be present in the oil from the seeds of Ocimum.