When your cough runneth over, there's lagundi

Before the advent of modern medicine, our ancestors had nothing but herbs to cure all sorts of ailments, like if they had a runny nose or were running a fever, if they had sore throat or sore muscles — and sore forth and sore on. They had banaba, yerba buena, tanglad, sambong, ampalaya, kalamungay, malunggay. Name it, they herb it! Today, even doctors and scientists are discovering new ways with old herbs.

And now, these herbal remedies don’t have to be tediously prepared at home. No fuss, no muss or mess. It’s as easy as going to your friendly neighborhood drugstore and buying it over the counter. Did I hear you coughing? Now, there’s ASCOF Lagundi, a cough medicine made from 100-percent lagundi leaves. It is one of 10 herbal medicines endorsed by the Department of Health for its proven therapeutic value.

Coming from a five-leaved chaste tree, lagundi has been proven to be effective in treating chronic obstructive lung diseases such as bronchitis, pharyngitis, and emphysema. Several studies performed by the Department of Science and Technology show that lagundi contains chrysoplenol D, a smooth muscle relaxant with anti-histamine properties. It’s been clinically proven to inhibit the release of leukotrienes, making it effective in controlling asthma. Some doctors prescribe it in helping treat severe asthma attacks. It also helps shorten the duration of influenza and prevent a viral respiratory infection from progressing to a bacterial infection.

There’s more where ASCOF Lagundi comes from. “Pascual Laboratories, Inc. has tapped Philippine medicinal plants to come up with world-class products,” says Dr. Eliseo Banaynal Jr., medical director for Pascual Lab products.

Mia Pascual remembers spending time as a child in the Pascuals’ ancestral home in Bulacan that’s but a hop away from their four-hectare plantation. Through her dedicated and hardworking parents Dr. Abraham Pascual and Sylvia Pascual, Mia was steeped in the absorbing world of herbs. “We have everything there,” she notes.

She gingerly adds, “The general trend today is to go for natural products, to lead a healthy lifestyle. But that’s more in the upper crust of society. Awareness needs to be disseminated. So we’re trying to spread the word to more people, to tell them that it‘s natural, yes, plus it won’t cause a major dent in their pursestrings.”

In the Pascuals’ state-of-the-art lab, medicines are churned out under the most hygienic conditions and the strictest quality control.

A world leader in herbal medicines that also exports to Malaysia, Japan, Europe, and the US, Pascual Laboratories offers Filipinos more choices and alternatives. “Pharex is our brand of generic medicines,” says Mia. “Some people like to take generic drugs because they’re affordable. We have all bases covered.”

They’ve also come up with different variants for their medicines. For instance, in view of the fact that there are some five million diabetic Filipinos (more are unrecorded) today, Pascual Laboratories, Inc. has come up with a sugar-free variant of ASCOF. “For diabetics and those conscious of their sugar intake, this variant uses a safe sugar substitute,” assures Dr. Eliseo Banaynal Jr.

The good doctor adds, “In the Philippines, we’re even stricter in the development of drugs and food supplements. Our Bureau of Food and Drugs demands not just a safety testing but an efficacy testing, too.”

Moms will be happy to know that now, if their kids have a cough (with the erratic weather these days, it seems everybody’s coughing or sneezing or both), they can always turn to ASCOF Lagundi.

Like doting celebrity mom Lucy Torres-Gomez who’s extra careful with the medicines that she gives her daughter Juliana. For Lucy, natural is best. “I’ve discovered that natural medicines offer the same benefits as the ones that are chemically made but are less costly and don’t pose the risk of side effects, which is really important to moms like me. After all, the reason why we take medicines is to relieve us of pain and discomfort so why should we run the risk of making things worse by choosing medicines made of chemicals?”

That’s a breath of welcome news for moms who are always worried sick when their children are sick. What’s more, they don’t have to cough up a lot of money for this herbal relief for cough.

Lucy and Juliana like the menthol flavor of ASCOF Lagundi, which is also available in ponkan and strawberry flavors in 60-ml. and 120-ml. syrup variants. It also comes in 300-mg. and Forte 600-mg. tablets.

As brand ambassadress for ASCOF Lagundi, Lucy invites everyone to go all-natural. She and husband Richard Gomez have embraced a healthy lifestyle. “And we’re lucky that Juliana has likewise imbibed this habit,” Lucy happily announces at the ASCOF Lagundi press conference held recently. “Like in the things we eat, we make sure it contains no preservatives and that it’s made from natural ingredients. Of course, there are moments when we struggle, and Juliana is allowed fast foods and junk foods but in limited amounts. When she was in kindergarten, her baon was already tofu. Whatever she enjoys in the house, I know she won’t overindulge when she’s in school. Overall, I can confidently say that yes, my family and I live a healthy lifestyle.”

What about you? 

* * *

We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.