Gul-e-Banafsha, the sweet violet, is gathered high in the northern valleys and carried down to the plains each season. In Unani practice it is the flower of the chest and head — given when a cold has settled everywhere at once. Laraib makes this as an advaiyati, or medicinal-grade, sharbat: the flower is present in earnest, not as a suggestion.
What it is traditionally used for
- Relieving nazla and zukam — catarrh and the common cold
- Loosening a cough and easing the chest
- Bringing comfort during feverish days
- Softening the dull headache that travels with a heavy cold
- Soothing soreness and heat in the throat
- Calming itching of the skin attributed to heat in the blood
How it is made
Dried violet flowers are steeped rather than boiled, held just below a simmer so their delicate aromatics are not driven off, then pressed and strained clear. The infusion is reduced with cane sugar to a light, fragrant syrup. The flowers are single-origin from the northern hills, and no artificial colour, flavour, sweetener or preservative is ever added.
How to take it
Two tablespoons, about 30 ml, in a glass of warm water once or twice a day through the cold season. For a blocked head and heavy cough, take it warm before bed. Children over five do well on a single tablespoon in warm water. A little honey stirred in suits a raw throat.
Good to know
- Generous 800 ml family bottle
- Medicinal-grade (advaiyati) preparation made to the Pakistan Tibbi Pharmacopoeia
- Contains cane sugar; no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives
- 100% natural and manufactured at Laraib’s DRAP-licensed facility in Multan
Faisal Saleem (verified owner) –
Ordered on my mother-in-law’s insistence and now I understand why. Took it warm with honey through a fortnight of nazla in Gujranwala and the constant headache eased within a few days. Bottle lasts the whole family.
Aamir Sheikh (verified owner) –
The syrup itself is fine and helped my cold, no argument there. But five hundred and fifty rupees felt steep until I worked out the per-dose cost, and it took nine days to reach Quetta. Would order again, just earlier in the season.
Noman Qureshi (verified owner) –
Lovely floral taste and it genuinely helps my son’s chest at night. Marking down only because the 800 ml bottle is heavy and awkward to pour for a child’s dose — I decant into a smaller one.
Mahnoor Qureshi (verified owner) –
We go through a bottle of banafsha every winter in Peshawar and this is the best-made one I have found. Real flower aroma when you open it. My children take it in warm water without any fuss.