Call to keep away from raw herbs By Shazia Hasan KARACHI, June 20: While even those looking for quick allopathic cures for their ailments often get tempted torr something natural on stumbling over all those aloe vera plants, small bitter melons or pumpkins and yellow creepers, not to mention the many jarred herbs, being sold by the roadside, texperts in Eastern medicine warn such adventurous individuals to think twice before blindly buying that stuf The roadside vendors also call themselves experts in the medicinal value ofall these herbs and advise who should have what and when, “Aloe vera is for easing joint pains. The gel you acquire ater peeling fleaf can be applied to the scalp for geting rid of dandruff or for helping in faster hair growth,” says Shakil Ahmad, a vendor on ShahralsiLiaquat "You can mash it up to make a paste of the jelly part or you can cook tin mastard seed oil and apply forthe aching joins after cooling,” he adds The plant seemingly pulled at the roots i sold at Rs#0 or 50 depending on its size. “You can also replant it at your place,” Mr Ahmad adds. Pointing at another item on display, the vendor says: "They are so bitter that if you eut one into half and rubiton the soles of your feet, the bitterness will reach your tongue and not go away for two oF three ddays even. We call it Tumba in local lingo, and it rows abundantly on creepers of climbers in the Wild, though we have brought ours from Balochistan,” he claims. ‘Asked what it does other than leave a bad taste in the mouth, he explains: “First and foremost, i is a treat natural medicine for diabeti patients. Then if You dry it out and have i in its dehydrated form, it Cures indigestion, gas and constipation,” the vendor Says, adding that Tumba was selling at R50 per ‘Another fresh material on offer was a pile of yel- logr threads that looked like corm sil or Buea ke baal but turned out to be something else on closer inspection. “We call it Amarbel or simply. yellow creepers [pel bail.” he says. "If you take a handful and sprinkle it over any other healthy pla ‘creeper will simply kilt But believe it or aot, it, t00, ‘artes its medicinal value and people use it for eas: jing pain in their joints" he adds, ‘And who buys al this stuf? “Well, people as well a ol, come to buy allthis stuff and the med icines we have prepared out ofthese,” he says while showing @ jar of murubba he has prepared from, Tumba Reading the ingredients, one is surprised at the rich contents used in its preparation such as khovd, ‘edi ghes, sugar, oc. “This is only. for curing joint [ee SS ‘QUITE uninformed himself about all their effect, a roadside vendor sells fresh aloe vera and Tumba on Shahrab-+-Liaquat.—White Star pains, not suitable for diabetics.” he warned with a Smile and the shaking of the finger: “Buran informative and very eye-opening chat with an expert trained in Hasta medicine reveals more than just keeping away from the murubba if you were diabetic. Prof Usman Ghani Khan, visiting professor atthe Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University, ‘Karachi, advises staying away from all these herbs in their raw form, “We have read and heard that aloe vera eases inflammation of the joints to reduce arthritis pain Dut as far as 1 know is all hearsay, with no signif cant documentary evidence available to date.” says the professor while speaking to Dawn. “And even if you want to consume the stuff asthe roadside vendor may encourage you to do, you don't feat the entire plant Just a onevinch or even smaller Piece should be enough as dosages, too, should be considered,” he ays ‘Tumba is toxic’ ‘More shocking information referring tothe other item on sale, the Tiomba, reveals that ie is more harmful than helpful. “Tumba o the Citrllus colo- ‘ynthis is poisonous! It isso toxic in nature that it ‘can hurt a'man’s reproductive system,” wars the professor. “But our simple gullible folks would eat anything without thinking." he adds. “Yes,” he admits, “it may have some medicinal properties and itis used in some medicines in ik ‘mat but not before detoxifying it,” explains Prof Khan, “People say that it has anti-diabetic properties, but you have to understand that diabetes is more of, 2 condition than an illness where the pancreas stop making enough insulin. Walk along with other healthy exercises and taking care of one's diet may itself bring blood sugar under control" he adds. wing a herbal cure for controlling sugar isa dif ficult job anyway.” ‘As forthe yellow creeper or Amarbel, the profes sor says that i is also not for eating just like tha “The creeper’s scientific name is ARimun and we use it in medicine for controling anxiety or sleep disorders. We normally use it in combination with three other things and T don’t believe it wil be as ‘effective when taken alone in its raw form,” he con: aden