The magic of the ‘Damdama’ mango


Express June 13, 2010

RAHIM YAR KHAN: A unique variety of mango being cultivated in Rahim Yar Khan is being hailed as an effective treatment for asthma.

This special variety is called the ‘Damdama’ mango. The mango variety is cultivated on over 70 thousand acres in more than four thousand orchards in Rahim Yar Khan. The mangoes farmed in this area are internationally renowned for their unique flavour. Though the intense heat has caused a 40 per cent decrease in the overall production of mango crop this year, no decrease was reported in the production of the Damdama mango.

“People travel to Ganga Nagar from across the globe to acquire ‘Damdama’ mangoes, which is known to be a cure for asthma patients,” said Muhammad Javed, a resident of Lahore. Javed says that he came to Ganga Nagar after hearing about the new variety of mango which was helpful for patients with lung disorders and those who experienced breathing problems. “I came here specially to buy the Damdama mango for two patients who are currently under treatment in Lahore,” he said. Javed said that several people had told him about the mango variety and that many had benefited from its unique ‘cure’.

Haji Jam Bahar, a guard at the Ganga garden, came to know about the benefits of the mango 11 years ago. He said that he suffered from chronic asthma his entire life but got well after eating this mango. Since then, countless people have been cured of asthma after eating this special variety of fruit, according to Fazal Ahmed Ganga, the owner of the garden. Ganga said that he was told by his guard about this mango and tried it as he too suffered from asthma.

“After I began eating this mango, I have been offering Damdama mangoes to asthma patients free of cost,” he said, adding that he wanted people to find out for themselves that the mango worked.

Local doctors agree that the fruit safeguards against breathing problems. Pakistan Mango Association (PMA) president Dr Ghulam Sabir said that there was a possibility that the tree contained a chemical that acted as anti-histamine, similar to steroids which guard against the disease. “This needs to be examined more closely, but having seen the results I would certainly recommend the mango as a cure. It is almost serves the purpose an inhaler,” he said.

Locals say that the district government should study the qualities of the fruit and if it is actually found to be helpful in curing asthma the variety should be cultivated throughout the country.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 13th, 2010.

COMMENTS (2)

Dr. Ghulam Mustafa | 13 years ago | Reply As an expert of Asthma in children and residing in this area of Mangoes, (Associate professor of Pediatrics at Nishtar Medical College, Multan) it is a pleasure to go through this report. My patients & friends are forwarding this report to me and are asking my opinion for if I would recommend this fruit to their children. The beauty of this fruit is that it is cheap & very tasty (rightly called King of the fruits). The parents will not need to remind their children to take its dosage. But it would require some time that I can recommend this fruit as a therapy of Asthma unless I have the results of a controlled & blinded trial at my hand. It is my pleasure to offer my expertise to do such a trial. May I have the contact details of Mr Fazal Ahmad Ganga & Dr. Ghulam Sabir?
DR JAVAID KHAN | 13 years ago | Reply AS an asthma expert I was interested in this report.Its true that many fruits have substances called anti oxidants which protect the lungs from environmental damage.Asthma develops as a result of interaction between asthma genes and environmental factor.Research has shown that if children eat regular fruits and vegetables then the risk of asthma development is decreased.More research is needed about this report on mangoes as a protecting agent against asthma.As MANGO is a delicious fruit it would be very nice if doctors start recommending this as a treatment rather then giving them other medicines which are costly and do not taste as good as this fruit.But before we do that we need to do a controlled trial and see if this mango really benefit asthma patients or not.There are people in HEJ institute as well as in AKU who can do such a trial on asthma patients to confirm or refute this report.
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