LAKH
English :Lac
Urdu : Lakh/Lac/Luc
Telugu : Laksha/Lacca/Lukkah
Description :
Lac is a resinous substance of reddish or dark-brown colour with a disagreeable smell. It is produced and deposited by a small insect on the twigs of big trees e.g banyan , acacia and sacred fig or peepal and palas.
Stick lac is the name given to the twigs encrusted with lac that are collected from the trees. On drying when the resinous concretion is taken off, the twigs are broken , triturated and washed in water , the greater part of the colouring matter is dissolved and the remaining granular matter is known as seed lac. When lac is melted on fire and dropped in hot water, the dust settles down and clean lac comes up. This lac is known as Luc-maghsool or Lakh-Maghsool.
Action and Uses:
Lac is cleansing , depurative, resolvent and styptic. It is also expectorant, liver tonic and desiccant.
It is a valuable remedy in liver diseases e.g hepatitis , jaundice , ascites and anasrca , haemoptysis, cough and asthma and also in obesity. It is considered as the best drug for reducing body weight and in the practice of medicine its two preperations are very popular i.e Dawa -e-Luc and Mohazzal powder.