Medicinal Plants Of Pakistan: Allium Sativum Linn-Lahsan/Garlic. (1997-11)

Pakistan is endowed with a great wealth of medicinal plants. This is a natural botanical source of medicines being manufactured by indigenous pharmaceutical house in Pakistan.
These Plants are also the basic source of modern pharmaceutical market, although to day it has become an entire medical world of synthetic, with elevated price 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.
ALLIUM SATIVUM LINN-LAHSAN/GARLIC.
It belongs to the family liliaceae and is a hardy perennial plants, about 60 cm in height, native to Central Asia-cultivated all over the world. Basically, the bulbs are common condiment used in several house hold preparations. History reveals its use in ancient Indian, Greek and Roman civilizations and is used in \' Unani medicine\" as an expectorant, stimulant, vermifuge, tonic, disinfectant, vasodilating hypotensive, anti-diabetic, antiseptic, carminative and nutritive.
(Contributed by: 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 October 22,1997.