Traditional uses of medicinal plants against malarial disease by the tribal communities of Lesser Himalayas-Pakistan.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Malaria is among the most prevalent infectious diseases in the developing countries of world. Estimated number of annual malaria episodes in Pakistan is 1.5 million, but very little is known about medicinal plant species of Pakistan, which have great potential against malarial disease. Present study was aimed to document medicinal plant species used by the local inhabitants of Lesser Himalayas-Pakistan to treat malaria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and contributor observation. A total of 55 informants aged between 25 and 80 years who were familiar with malarial disease participated in the survey. RESULTS: A total of 84 plant species belonging to 69 genera and 50 families were recorded to treat malaria. Asteraceae was found as most cited botanical family with (11.9%) representation, followed by Lamiaceae (5.9%), Solanaceae and Verbenaceae (4.7%) and Violaceae (3.5%) respectively. About 60% of the inhabitants prefer herbal treatment by local herbalists or self-treatment with locally available medicinal plant species. Of the plants identified during present investigation against malaria, Azadirachta indica, Swertia chirayita and Swertia ciliata exhibited uppermost frequency of encounter (36.3%) and corresponding PR value 5. About 67.2% of the botanical taxa are reported for the first time in the treatment of malaria. It was observed thatover harvesting is the foremost threat to medicinal plant species of the study area. CONCLUSION: Present survey indicates that traditional knowledge about the use of plant species against various diseases and particularly to treat malaria is in decline. Similarly anthropogenic pressure, over exploitation and grazing of the botanical taxa are the major concerns regarding medicinal plant biodiversity loss. Frequently utilized plant species with significant malarial reduction should be authenticated by in vitro and in vivo standard tests.

World allergy organization study on aerobiology for creating first pollen and mold calendar with clinical significance in islamabad, pakistan;: a project of world allergy organization and pakistan allergy, asthma & clinical immunology centre of islamabad.

Pollen and mold allergies are highly problematic in Islamabad. This study was conducted to investigate the type and concentration of airborne pollens/molds causing allergic diseases in susceptible individuals. A volumetric spore trap (Burkard) was placed at the height of 11 m and ran continuously for 3 years. Once a week, the collecting drum was prepared by affixing Melinex tape with a double-sided adhesive that was coated with a thin layer of silicone grease. Every Sunday at 9:00 AM the drum was replaced by another drum and the pollen/mold spores were removed and permanently mounted on slides. Using a microscope, the trapped particles were identified and recorded as counts per cubic meter of air per hour. From these data, the pollen and mold calendars were constructed and expressed as counts per cubic meter of air per day. Skin prick tests were performed on more than 1000 patients attending the Pakistan Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology Centre of Islamabad. The results indicated that there were 2 main pollen plants that contributed to seasonal allergies. These were Broussonetia papyrifera and Cannabis sativa during the March/April season and the July/September season, respectively. Although mold spores were continuously detected throughout the year, the most prominent mold was undetected mold and unconfirmed mold species similar to Stachybotrys species, which was high from July to September/October. Two additional molds contributing to allergic reactions were Pithomyces species and Cladosporium species, which were active during January and April, with the latter also being detected between October and November. These results may prove beneficial to both patients and physicians in planning a therapeutic protocol for avoidance and amelioration.