Teucrium polium has been shown to have anti-cancer properties due to its powerful antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties, which are stronger than basil in laboratory experiments.

However, it has potential side effects, particularly on the liver, requiring extreme caution and medical supervision.

Ocimum basilicum has supportive and beneficial effects on general health, but it is less effective at directly affecting cancer cells.

Ocimum basilicum is more promising as a complementary cancer therapy due to its safer profile, multiple anticancer mechanisms, and broader acceptance in traditional and modern medicine

Both answers are great. However, the quantity and quality of phytochemical bioactive compounds in plant extract are affected by several factors, such as genetics, the plant's stage of development, the weather, its nutritional value, how it was dried and stored, what the soil was like, when it was picked, and how it was extracted.

and nobody seems to care if the dose of active compound(s) is sufficient to make any difference.

Professor Bruce Kennedy Cassels, May I ask you to give more details of your answer? Why do you think nobody cares?

In phytochemistry, active compounds are usually identified but not quantified, the likely doses obtained by ingestion of the plants or the extracts are not estimated, and the effects of the plants or extracts in vivo (and particularly in humans), which could point to interesting synergies, are not determined.

Several recent studies have found that Ocimum basilicum contains higher levels of polyphenolic and flavonoid compounds compared to Teucrium polium.

The phytochemical composition of plant extracts, specifically focusing on phenolics and flavonoids, was analyzed using Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). This technique allows for the identification and quantification of these compounds within ethanolic extracts.

Good work! But what are the likely doses, and what are their effects at those levels?

Recent studies showed significant results in vitro like Nelson et al. (2020), who observed significant inhibition of migration by Eclipta albaextract at 100 µg/mL and marked morphological changes at 200 µg/mL. Similarly, Dolghi et al. (2021) reported reduced migration and 53.36% viability in Caco-2 cells treated with 75 µg/mL of Ocimum basilicum essential oil. More recently, Chakroun et al. (2024) found that 30 µg/mL of Barhee date leaf extract reduced U87 glioblastoma migration by 74.56%, and Rao et al. (2024) demonstrated effective inhibition of HCT-116 migration using 30.16 µg/mL ethanolic Annona reticulata extract . In this context, phytotherapy remains a complementary and alternative treatment aimed at reducing the side effects of conventional therapies and improving patients’ quality of life (Huet, 2013).