E-Paper
Herbal pill to check fertility!
A HERBAL remedy to the population explosion is at hand. Abrus Precatorius, a new variety of seed, would soon play an important role to prepare herbal contraceptives.
A HERBAL remedy to the population explosion is at hand.
Abrus Precatorius, a new variety of seed, would soon play an important role to prepare herbal contraceptives.
Dr SP Singh, a professor with the department of zoology in DBS college, Dehradun, is conducting research on the seeds for use as contraceptives.
He spoke about his research during a lecture at the seminar on ‘Innovations in Biosciences’ in the city on Tuesday.
Singh said that the new variety of the seeds was being developed and it would take 2 to 3 years to be identified for human consumption.
He said that herbal plants have been an integral part of health care system in India and were still being used to cure a host of diseases. Some plants were suggested for family planning and Abrus Precatorius seeds were one among those, he pointed out.
In his paper, Singh has reported fertility-regulating activities of the seeds (ratti). He said that since many years, Abrus Precatorius had been used in the rural areas as a family planning method.
With the introduction of these herbal pills, the use of synthetic contraceptive would go down which would reduce their side effects.
Singh said that researches were under way on more such plants whose contraceptive potential can be tapped. He added that it was interesting to note that these plants belong to different genera and species.
They exhibit diversity in nature and activity. Some plants have shown anti fertility activities in males while others have shown activity in female and some have even shown their effect in both male and female animals.anshfun@gmail.com
