Call for more research on Tibb-i-Unani’s medicines

A one-day seminar on on hepatitis was held at the Bait al-Hikmah auditorium, Madinat al-Hikmah, Karachi, last week as part of a series on ‘education and training of Tibb-i-Unani’s physicians.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Navaid ul Zafar, managing director of Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan, said: “If we want to get Tibb-i-Unani recognised on world level, there is no other way than to adopt research culture in this system of medicine. We, at least, should know about our medicines and for that purpose put them on the testing stone of clinical trials and research as Hakim Said had done in his matab.” He said that physicians of Tibb-i-Unani should take inspiration from Hakim Said, who played an important role in getting recognition for Tibb-i-Unani from the government in 1965.

He said Hamdard had raised the standard of Tibb-i-Unani’s education by introducing the degree course of BEMS like allopathic course of MBBS and admission in this course made conditional to inter-science. “This is the age of knowledge and with the power of knowledge the physicians of Tibb-i-Unani can meet with the challenges of health such as hepatitis, a threat to our nation because 10 percent of our population is suffering from this dangerous disease. It is like atom bomb and, God forbid, if it explodes it will be disastrous for the nation,” he said.

Dr Zafar added that Tibb-i-Unani should accept the challenge of hepatitis as it had the capacity to do it and should work on its prevention which was equally necessary for controlling the disease. 

Physicians of Tibb-i-Unani should create awareness about hepatitis and the importance of hygiene, he said.

Prof Dr Hakim Asif Iqbal said that no successful vaccine had been produced yet against hepatitis and Tibb-i-Unani could treat the disease as “we in a clinical study ranging from the year of 2008 to 2010 obtained 40 percent successful results but we still need more research”.

Dr Imran Bakar discussed the treatment of hepatitis in the light of the allopathic system of medicine.

Prof Dr Hakim Abdul Hannan, vice chancellor, Hamdard University, said that the world did not accept any medicine without clinical research.

“So herbal physicians should make all-out efforts for research on their medicines and make public their discoveries as in the presence of law of property rights they must not be afraid of it,” he added.

A session of questions and answers was also held.  Hakim Abdul Bari offered the vote of thanks. Physicians and students of medicine attended the seminar.