Medicinal plants big draw at horticulture expo

​Hyderabad: Several varieties of medicinal plants which help control chronic diabetes, cancer and also offer cure for various other ailments were a major attraction at the five-day horticulture exhibition being organised at People’s Plaza, Necklace Road.

The expo, which was inaugurated by Agriculture Secretary C Parthasarathi on Thursday, has more than 70 stalls which include plant nurseries, seeds, bio-fertilizers, gardening equipment and flower pots, some of which were procured as far as from Germany. It has stalls not only from the city, but also from faraway places like Darjeeling.

A stall selling medicinal plant varieties attracted the attention of scores of officials as well as the visitors, who wanted to know about the healing properties of these plants.

Amongst the plant varieties, the Costus Igneus, commonly known as insulin plant (sugar or diabetics plant in local slang) and Morinda Citrifolia (Noni plant), whose juice is considered to offer cure to patients at the primary stage of cancer, attracted the attention of visitors, who were keen on shifting from normal gardening plants.

“Research proves that Noni juice contains anti-cancerous or immune-stimulant properties, hence people are more interested to know about benefits,” said T Anjaneyulu, a researcher.

Amongst other medicinal plant varieties, Kalanchoe Pinnata commonly known in Telugu as Ranapala (Sanskrit – Parn beej or hemsagar) known for curing growing ailments amongst the urban population like kidney stones, infections, arthritis and hypertension.

While Poison Gooseberry (Ashwagandha), known for high medicinal value and increasing stamina and Cissus quadrangularis (Nalleru), which is known for its healing properties for bone fractures is also being enquired by visitors. The saplings of turmeric and carom seeds (wamu), which are believed to be having medicinal properties, are also on display.

According to stall owners, the prices start from Rs 220 per sapling, which comes with a pot. “We have personally used some of the plant varieties in our own families. As people are showing more interest in traditional medicine, we started to sell these saplings to interested customers,” said Zareena Anjum, owner of Myro Farms in Secunderabad.

With most of the people now preferring herbal solution to beat the mosquito menace, Myro Farms is also selling plants Cymbopogon (lemon grass), Citronella and Lemon eucalyptus that repel mosquitoes. “Oil of lemon eucalyptus and its unique properties acts as an alternative to toxic mosquito repellents,” she adds.