|
Safi from Hamdard : is it poisonous?
There is a sudden emphasis on the
holistic approach to healthcare – newspapers, television and
journals are flashed with advertisements about the popularity
of the ancient Indian Ayurveda and herbs which are extremely
effective in dealing with any kind of ailment in the most
natural and safest way. Herbs play a very important role in
the modern times when the damaging effects of food processing
and over-medication have assumed alarming proportions. Not
only as alternative medicines, herbs, are also used in cosmetics, various food
items and most popularly teas. People are slowly starting to
believe that herbs have a vast potential for their use as a
curative medicine.
History
of Hamdard
In the year 1906, Hamdard Laboratories was launched in Delhi
by Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed, a popular Unani practitioner of
the yester-years. The term ‘Hamdard’ means ‘empathizer’ or
‘companion in suffering’ in Urdu. After the death of Hakeem
Hafiz Abdul Majeed, his son Hakeem Abdul Hameed took over the
reigns of the company and at the tender age of fourteen became
poularly known as the ‘hakeem sahab’ amongst the people. It
was under the giudance and supervision of this ‘Hakeem sahab’,
Hamdard became a household name in India and also became a
well known international name.
Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories is the largest producer of Unani
medicines in the world. The company became a ‘wakf’ or a non
profitable organization in the year 1948. The popular Hamdard
products are – Safi, Rooh Afza Sharbat, Cinkara, Roghan Badam
Shirin and Pachnol. Hamdard Laboratories is associated with
the Hamdard Foundation, a charitable educational trust that
reinvests its profits into charitable activities.
The various charitable activities
Hamdard Foundation, the charitable educational trust, was
formed in 1964, with an aim to distribute the profits made by
the company to promote the interests of the society. All the
profits incurred by the company go to this foundation. Hamdard
Laboratories and Hamdard Foundation both played a major role
in reviving and popularizing Unani medicine in India. The
Jamia Hamdard University in Delhi is partly funded by this
organization; the Majeedia Hospital, located in the university
complex is also sponsored by this company.
The
products offered
The products offered by Hamdard have become a household name
in India today. Safi, the most popular amongst them is a
herbal tonic that claims to be a blood purifier and is very
useful for various types of skin problems. This is achieved by
stimulating the system to eliminate the accumulated morbid and
the harmful matter through the intestines, kidneys and skin
and rectify their functions. Safi is also believed to relieve
constipation, prevent and heal any boils on the skin, combat
acne, pimples and other skin allergies and eruptions and
epistaxis (bleeding from the nose). Cinkara is another herbal
tonic that ‘quickly restores lost energy’ and is effective in
enhancing appetite during a recovery from an illness or
injury. Rooh Afza is a Sharbat or a sweet Sherbet that is a
refreshing thirst quencher during hot summer months. Roghan
Badam Shirin is a preparation from almond oil and Panchnol is
a very tasty digestive tablet. Hamdard manufactures more than
450 Unani and Ayurvedic medicines.
Safi
As mentioned earlier, Safi is a herbal blood purifier that si
very effective in healing all skin related disorders. Two
teaspoons of safi can be consumed either directly or by mixing
in a cup of milk of water preferably in the morning. For
children the dosage varies according to age from 1/3rd
teaspoon to ½ teaspoon. Safi is available in two packages –
175 ml bottle and 400 ml bottle.
The ingredients of Safi are
• Bauhinia variegata
• Canscora decussate
• Cassia angustifolia
• Chrozophora plicata
• Curcuma caesia
• Cuscuta reflexa
• Dalbergia sissoo
• Fumaria parviflora
• Ipomoea turpethum
• Lavandula stoechas
• Melia azadirachta
• Nymphaea lotus
• Ocimum canum
• Pterocarpus santalinus
• Rosa damascena
• Smilax china
• Sphaeranthus indicus
• Swertia chirata
• Tephrosia purpurea
• Terminalia chebula
• Tinospora cordifolia
• Syrup
The
controversy
However, Safi has faced severe crticism in the recent years.
In March 2005, a study conducetd by Health Canada reported
that this herbal heath tonic contains very high arsenic levels
– more than 40 times the maximum allowable concentration for
drugs. Arsenic poisoning is extremely dangerous as it affcets
the functioning of the liver, the bone marrow, the heart and
central nervous system and causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal
cramps, muscle pains, anemia and reduced motor nerve
functions. Thus consumers are advised not to use this product.
Go to Index Page
|