Water is essential component of life. Pure drinking water is a necessity for humans. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan. In Balochistan river and well water is mainly used for drinking and agriculture purposes. Current study was carried out to determine the concentration of trace and heavy metals in river (surface) and well water of Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan. Ten (10) samples were collected from each, river (surface) and well water. Physicochemical parameters (PH, Electrical conductivity, Total dissolved solids, Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity and Color) were determined. Determination of trace and heavy metals i.e. Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr) and Nickel (Ni) were carried out using Atomic absorption Spectrophotometer. Except 3 samples (RW3, RW5 and WW6), the physicochemical parameters were within the world health organization (WHO) and environmental protection agency Pakistan (EPA) limits. Concentration of Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu were below the WHO and EPA limits. Concentration of Pb and Cd were higher than the standards set by WHO and EPA. Cr and Ni were not detected in any samples. Current study is the first study carried out to determine the concentration of trace and heavy metals in drinking water of Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan.

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In this study, GC-MS analysis has shown that whole plant hexane fraction of Achillea wilhelmsii (WHFAW) consists of 66 compounds which exhibited antileishmanial activity. Antileishmanial bioassay was the method used for determining antileishmanial activity. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) which was observed for whole plant hexane fraction of Achillea wilhelmsii (WHFAW) against parasitic and vector-borne disease, leishmaniasis, is 58.27 ± 0.52 μg/mL. For leishmanicidal assay, Leishmania major is the species used for analysis. Whole plant methanol extract of Achillea wilhelmsii (WMEAW) and whole plant aqueous fraction of Achillea wilhelmsii (WAFAW) exhibited no antileishmanial activity.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the availability, prices, and affordability of selected essential medicines in Balochistan, Pakistan.Methods: Cross-sectional research was conducted in several cities of Balochistan, Pakistan, using the World Health Organization/Health Action International methodology to assess the availability and cost of 50 originator brand (OB) and lowest priced generic (LPG) drugs. The medicine costs were compared to international reference prices (IRPs) to calculate the median price ratio. The daily wage of the lowest paid unskilled government employee was used to determine affordability.Results: The mean availability was low for OBs (9.8%) and fairly high (49.4%) for LPGs. The OBs and LPGs’ mean availability in the private sector were fairly high, 51.8% and 42.6%, respectively. It was surprising to see that Balochistan’s public sector has only 24.3% of the National Essential Medicine List when the medicines on this list are supposed to be adequately available.Conclusion: The standard treatment cost with OBs is steep, exceeding the minimum daily wage. Treatment with LPG medications seems affordable. Furthermore, essential LPG medicines are economical when used solely for medication therapy.

Abstract. Basit A, Saeed S, Ahmed A, Baloch N, Ali AZ. 2021. Genetic structuring of Ephedra an important medicinal plant from low to high altitudinal zones of Balochistan, Pakistan. Biodiversitas 22: 713-718. The current study is based on the genetic structuring of three Ephedra species compared to the morphological and phytochemical investigation. Ephedra is a significant, medicinally important genus growing naturally in arid and semi-arid regions of Balochistan Pakistan. Resolving the taxonomic identification of Ephedra species genetic variability was estimated by using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats. Higher values revealed that E. foliata possess high genetic diversity. Less diversity was observed within Takatu Mountain Range population. Diversity in Nushki region was found higher than the Takatu Mountain Range. The genetic diversity was maintained within the populations of all three species of Ephedra at Hazarganji-Chiltan National Park. That may be due to the less anthropogenic activity in conserved region of the Park. Assessment and conservation of genetic diversity through molecular markers is essential that could be used as a key to conserve genetic variability. This study is the first endeavor to estimate genetic and phytochemical diversity within and among diverse populations of Ephedra from the region to the best of our knowledge. Genetic diversity can be used as key tool for further development of a management plan for ex situ reproduction and in situ conservation