Saying it with flowers, the Viagra way

NEW DELHI, JULY 31: Viagra, the wonder drug, is not just good for treating impotent males. It can also help stop many other things from ...

NEW DELHI, JULY 31: Viagra, the wonder drug, is not just good for treating impotent males. It can also help stop many other things from “wilting and shrivelling.” Researchers have now shown that Viagra even makes flowers “stand up straight.”

A team of American and Israeli scientists have discovered that the shelf life of cut flowers can be increased by as much as one week if tiny concentrations of Viagra are dissolved in the water in which the flowers have been placed.

Their study, reported in the leading magazine, British Medical Journal, says Viagra can “double the shelf life of cut flowers, making them stand up straight for as long as a week beyond their natural life span.”

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The scientists have already tested Viagra on strawberries, legumes, roses, carnations, broccoli, and other perishables. They found that to get the desired effect in flowers, one needs to only add one fiftieth (1/50) of the amount that is normally used for treating humans.

They claim that a single pill was capable fortreating about 100 vases of cut flowers and the life of the flowers could be increased by as much as seven days with one treatment.

The Israeli scientist who discovered this novel use, Professor Yaacov Leshem, says that Viagra increases the vase life by retarding the breakdown of cycle guanosine monophosphate (GMP) the production of which is mediated by nitric oxide. He is already looking towards the wider adoption of his discovery by the cut flower industry.