Bilal Ahmad1*, Quddusi N1, Usama Akram2, Mohammad Fazil3 and AA Khan4
1Research Officer, Scientist-III, Hakim Ajmal Khan Institute for Literary and Historical Research in Unani Medicine, (CCRUM), New Delhi, India
2Research Officer, Scientist-I, Hakim Ajmal Khan Institute for Literary and Historical Research in Unani Medicine, (CCRUM), New Delhi, India
3Professor of Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Egypt
4Director General, CCRUM, Ministry of AYUSH, New Delhi, India
*Corresponding Author: Bilal Ahmad, Research Officer, Scientist-III, Hakim Ajmal Khan Institute for Literary and Historical Research in Unani Medicine, (CCRUM), New Delhi, India.
Received: July 16, 2020; Published: September 17, 2020
Halwa-i Gheekwar (HG) is a polyherbal formulation used in various diseases for preventive and curative purposes. It is prepared by adding herbal drugs to the base (Qiwam) which contains sugar. The formulation has been described to possess aphrodisiac, nervine tonic and laxative properties and is used to treat joint pain, lumbago, cough and dyspnoea. Single drugs, used as ingredients of HG include Withania somnifera, Elettaria cardamomum, Curcuma amada, Euryale ferox, Cinnamomum cassia, Orchis mascula, Alpinia galangal, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Zingiber officinale, Asparagus racemosus, Syzygium aromaticum, Saussurea lappa, Celastrus peniculatus, Rubia cordifolia, Juglans regia, Prunus amygdalus, Cocos nucifera, Chlorophytum borivilianum, Aloe vera, Phoenix dactylifera, etc., Cotemporary studies on these single drugs demonstrate their activities as anticancer, antioxidant and immunomodulator agents. This review article has discussed the medicinal importance of HG in the light of recent studies on its individual ingredients.
Keywords: Halwa; Free Radicals; Anticancer; Antioxidant; Immunomodulator
Citation: Bilal Ahmad., et al. “Anticancer, Antioxidant and Immunomodulator Ingredients of Halwa-i Gheekwar: A Review” Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 4.10 (2020): 59-64.
Copyright: © 2020 Bilal Ahmad., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.