Benefits
Lower perceived stress scores versus placebo
In an 8-week placebo-controlled trial in 100 stressed adults, funded by the maker, Holixer 125 mg twice daily lowered Perceived Stress Scale scores (the primary outcome) by 37% versus 19% with placebo (p = 0.003). This trial tested Holixer; no published trial has tested Ocitum.
Lower hair cortisol at week 8
Hair cortisol was measured once, at week 8, in the 68 participants with enough hair, and was lower with Holixer than with placebo (p = 0.025). Older hair segments, reflecting cortisol before the trial, already differed between groups, so only new growth was compared.
Lower cortisol and blood pressure during a laboratory stress test
At week 8, during a cold-water and arithmetic stress test, the Holixer group had lower overall salivary cortisol, salivary amylase, blood pressure and stress ratings than placebo. The rise and fall over the test (time by group effect) did not differ, and pulse did not differ.
Self-rated sleep scores in stressed adults
In a single trial in stressed adults, funded by the maker, Athens Insomnia Scale scores (a secondary outcome) fell 48% with Holixer versus 27% with placebo, a between-group difference (p = 0.025). The Restorative Sleep Questionnaire (p = 0.984) and wrist-tracker sleep time and efficiency did not differ, and the authors call for objective sleep testing to confirm it.
Mood and quality-of-life scores
In the same trial, Profile of Mood States total mood disturbance (p = 0.695) and the PROMIS-29 subscales, including anxiety and depression, did not differ from placebo after 8 weeks.
A different holy basil extract (OciBest) and stress symptom scores
OciBest, an older whole-plant extract from the same maker and not the same product as Holixer or Ocitum, lowered total stress symptom scores more than placebo after 6 weeks at 1,200 mg/day of actives in 150 adults (p of 0.05 or less), in a trial with capsules supplied by the maker.
Ocitum and Holixer are separate branded extracts
Holixer is a Natural Remedies extract of the leaf-rich aerial parts standardized to an Ocimum bioactive complex. Ocitum is listed by K. Patel Phyto Extractions with standardization to ursolic acid, eugenol and rosmarinic acid. The results on this page come from Holixer.
Mechanism of action
HPA axis activity (cortisol)
In people, Holixer lowered hair cortisol at week 8 and overall salivary cortisol during a stress test versus placebo. In a study by the maker's research center, an Ocimum sanctum extract improved weight gain and swim-test immobility in rats under chronic stress, and in cell assays the extract and ursolic acid inhibited cortisol release, CRHR1 activity, 11-beta-HSD1 and COMT. The human mechanism is not established.
Sympathetic nervous system markers
Salivary amylase, a marker of sympathetic activity, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were lower overall with Holixer than with placebo during a laboratory stress test at week 8, while pulse rate did not differ (p = 0.224).
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 8-week trial of Holixer, a standardized hydroalcoholic extract of the leaf-rich aerial parts of Ocimum tenuiflorum supplied by Natural Remedies, 125 mg twice daily (250 mg/day), in 100 adults aged 18 to 65 with ongoing stress and sleep complaints. Funded by Natural Remedies Pty Ltd, which also supplied the capsules; the lead author was managing director of a contract research organization funded by nutraceutical companies. Hair cortisol was measured once, at week 8, in 68 participants. ACTRN12621000609853. (Lopresti et al. 2022, Front Nutr)
100 adults aged 18 to 65 experiencing stress.
Perceived Stress Scale scores (primary outcome) fell 37% with the extract versus 19% with placebo (p = 0.003), and Athens Insomnia Scale scores improved more (p = 0.025). Hair cortisol was lower at week 8 (p = 0.025). During a laboratory stress test, salivary cortisol, salivary amylase, blood pressure and stress ratings were lower overall, but their change over the test did not differ between groups. Mood (POMS), PROMIS-29, Restorative Sleep Questionnaire and Fitbit sleep measures did not differ from placebo.