A garden of medicinal plants
The hospital’s herbal garden covers 4,047 sq.m and grows 100 species of medicinal plants. It is part of the Unani pharmacy and herbal garden service, alongside the teaching pharmacy and the raw drug agency.
Unani medicine draws on plants, minerals and other natural materials. Many students and visitors first meet these as dried powders or finished preparations. A living garden lets them see the plant itself: its leaves, its habit and how it changes through the seasons.
Because the Unani pharmacy on campus is a teaching pharmacy, the garden is also a learning resource. It lets students connect what they read about a plant with what it looks like in the ground.
The 25-seat demonstration room
The garden is paired with a 25-seat demonstration room, a space for small groups to learn about the plants and how Unani medicine identifies and describes them.
A room of this size suits a class, a group of interns or a visiting delegation rather than a large audience. The Trust’s activity reports record that a Dept. of AYUSH delegation included the herbal garden in its tour of the hospital in August 2020.
From plant to pharmacy
The garden is one part of a wider Unani setup on campus. The GMP-certified Al-Arif Unani (Teaching) Pharmacy (No. 502/U/12) dispenses Unani medicines, and the Al-Arif Raw Drug Agency (Dawasaz), inaugurated on 31 December 2020, runs manufacturing, storage, packaging, labelling, dispensing and dispatch units.
Seeing a plant growing is not the same as knowing how to use it. Identifying, processing and dosing medicinal plants takes training, and a plant that is appropriate in one preparation may not be in another. Please take Unani medicines only as prescribed, and avoid preparing remedies from plants on your own.
Visiting and learning
If you are a student, teacher or practitioner interested in the garden, ask reception whether a visit or demonstration can be arranged. Formats and availability change, so nothing here is a standing invitation.
The Trust’s single-drug exhibitions in 2022 and 2023 brought similar materials to students and the public, and they are described in a separate story.
Patients who are given a Unani prescription can ask the pharmacist about the medicine they receive, and should mention any other medicines they take. Suitability is decided by your clinician. Please confirm current services, timings and fees with reception on +91 85550 86667.