NOW Foods Holy Basil Extract 500 mg (90 Veg Capsules) — (Pakistan Market)

A Plant With Deep Roots Across South Asia, Now in a Standardized Capsule

Holy Basil — known throughout the subcontinent as Tulsi — is one of the more recognizable plants in South Asian households, often grown at home and long valued in traditional herbal practice across the region, including in Pakistan's own Unani and Ayurvedic-influenced herbal traditions. It's revered as a sacred plant in Ayurveda specifically, but its everyday household presence and reputation as a general wellness herb extends well beyond any single religious or cultural tradition — it's simply a familiar plant to a large number of people in this part of the world, which makes this concentrated extract a genuinely accessible starting point for anyone curious about herbal supplementation but hesitant about trying something entirely unfamiliar.

This NOW Foods formula standardizes the extract to a minimum of 2% ursolic acid, one of the compounds most associated with Holy Basil's studied properties, delivered at 500mg per capsule from the leaves of Ocimum tenuiflorum.

Two Distinct Areas of Traditional and Studied Use

Stress response support. Holy Basil has more recently been studied for genuinely powerful adaptogenic properties — meaning it's associated with helping the body's response to everyday life stress adapt and normalize, rather than acting as a direct sedative or stimulant. This is the more commonly cited modern research angle.

Carbohydrate metabolism and glucose management. Separately, scientific studies have looked at Holy Basil's association with supporting healthy carbohydrate metabolism and normal glucose management. This is genuinely worth being direct about, given how relevant blood sugar management is across Pakistani households: if you are diabetic, prediabetic, or taking any medication that affects blood sugar, please consult your doctor before adding this product to your routine, since combining an herb studied for glucose-related effects with blood sugar medication should be done with medical guidance, not independently.

A Note on Formulation Consistency

Most sources for this exact product list a simple filler combination — cellulose capsule, silica, rice flour, and vegetable-source magnesium stearate — but at least one retailer listing includes additional ingredients (magnesium carbonate and maltodextrin) not found elsewhere. This may reflect an older or regional formulation variant. The core active ingredient (500mg Holy Basil extract, standardized to 2% ursolic acid) is consistent across all sources we found; we'd recommend checking your specific bottle's current label for the exact filler list.

Ingredient Breakdown

Vegan/Vegetarian. Not manufactured with yeast, wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, or tree nut ingredients. Produced in a GMP facility that processes other ingredients containing these allergens.

Dosage Chart