Books by Saeed Ahmad

Local people of Cholistan desert of Bahawalpur (Pakistan) have always used medicinal plants for their common health problems by traditional method. Indigenous knowledge of local people about medicinal plant is directly linked to their culture and history. The present study was designed for the Ethnobotanical evaluation of Cholistan desert, which is one of the resource based area of medicinal plants. Indigenous knowledge of local people about the medicinal uses of plants is the source of ideas for new research in drug development and for wider use and economic benefit. There are large number of unexploited plant species in the area which could prove useful. The local people of this desert have good knowledge of the utilization of medicinal plants and this knowledge is going to be lost because of the interference of modern cultural changes. The observations emerged from the present study to be substantiated with pharmaco-chemical studies in the order to evaluate their effectiveness.

Antipyretic activity of ethanol extracts of Echinops echinatus, Alhagi maurorum, Fagonia cretica, Cymbopogon jwarancusa and Panicum turgidum form Cholistan desert, Pakistan was determined. Plant extracts were prepared by soaking air dried and milled plant material in ethanol for one week, followed by filtration and evaporation at 35oC. Treatment does with concentrations of 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg of plant extracts were prepared. Fever was produced in rabbits, weighting 1000-1200 grams by injecting Escherichia coli suspension at a concentration of 0.01 ml/kg of body weight. The ethanol extracts of Fagonia cretica, at the dose of 500 mg/kg and Pancium turgidum, at the dose of 500 and 750 mg/kg showed significant antipyretic activity as compared to positive and negative control. The extracts of Cymbopogon jwarancusa, Alhagi maurorum and Echinops chinatus showed antipyretic activity but less than positive control. These results showed that ethanol extracts of Fagonia cretica and Panicum turgidum are more effective in lowering temperature as compared to Echinops echinatus, Alhagi maurorum and Cymbopogon jwarancusa.

Cholistan desert is a wild land of its own kind with scarcity of endemic flora, counting only 128 species belonging to 34 families. Homeopathy is a system of therapeutics and 80% homeopathic medicines are based upon plants origin in the form of mother tinctures. Present study was designed to explore homeopathic way of treatment of various diseases by using the mother tincture. A double blind clinical study of mother tinctures and carbo-vegetabilis was performed based on the ethno-botanical information collected from the local people of Cholistan desert. The mother tincture of 19 medicinal plants and carbo-vegetabilis of 4 medicinal plants of Cholistan desert were clinically evaluated against various diseases. The results showed that out of 19 medicinal plants the mother tinctures of 8 plant species was very effective to control various diseases by giving 75-100 % curing percentage. The results of present study concluded that the homeo-mother tinctures of various medicinal plants from Cholistan desert should be trialed and this cheap and safe way of medication should be promoted in the area to control various diseases.