Medicinal Plants Of Pakistan (Dhatu Ra) (1998-5)

Pakistan is endowed with a great wealth of medicinal plants. This is a natural botanical source of medicines being manufactured by indigenous pharmaceutical houses in Pakistan. These plants are also the basic source of modern pharmaceutical market, although today it has become an entire medical world of synthetics, with elevated prices a common man can hardly afford.
It is therefore, the most appropriate time to consider development and organization of our medicinal plants industry to become independent in the provision of common indigenous natural drugs that are being used to treat diseases in most of our rural areas.
In our country these plants generally grow wild but medicinal plants species are also cultivated which possess great potentialities not only in the light of their use from centuries in the sub-continent in Greco-Arab (Unani or Eastern) system of medicine but also in the light of active principles or biodynamic compounds being isolated from them, using ultra modern screening techniques available in the country.
DHATURA STRAMONIUM LINN. SADA DHATURA THORNAPPLE.
Included in family solanaceae is a large annual herb, erect with alternate exstipulate lobed leaves and flower petals united. Plant is widely distributed in Egypt, India, Japan, Korea, USA Etc. The poisonous plant is being used in indigenous medicine from centuries as external anodyne, and antispasmodic. Leaves flowers and juice are used for boils, sores, earache and fruit to the scalp for curing dandruff and falling hair. It contains some valuable alkaloids.
Contribution: Hamdard University
To focus the importance of natural Botanical Source of Medicines, Pakistan Post Office is issuing a special postage stamp of Rs. 2/- denomination on April 27, 1998.