Ocimum tenuifl orum L.f. (syn. O. sanctum L.) (Lamiaceae) is an indigenous ayurvedic medicinal plant of India and is popularly known as holy basil/sacred basil. Oils obtained by hydrodistillation from leaves, stems, infl orescence and whole herb were analyzed by GC and GC/MS and retention indices. Methyl eugenol was the major constituent of all the oils (72.5%, 75.3%, 83.7% and 65.2% in oils from whole herb, leaf, stem and infl orescence, respectively). β-Caryophyllene was the second most dominant constituent and the respective concentration in each oil (5.5%, 6.4%, 2.7% and 12.0%).

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Of the 7 carotane sesquiterpenes of Ferula jaeschkeana Vatke evaluated, three jaeschkeanadiol esters (compounds 3, 5, and 6) showed contraceptive efficacy when administered orally on days 1-7 post coitum in rats. In ovarieetomized immature female rats, however, the active compounds exhibited estrogenie activity and were devoid of antiestrogenie activity. Using a competitive protein binding assay, the compounds 3, 5, and 6 showed relative binding affinity of 0.01%, 5.75%, and 0.75% of 173-estradiol, respectively, for rat uterine cytosol estrogen receptors.

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