Fundamentals of Unani Pharmacy

According to need, a large number of preparations are made in different forms. Some of them are described below. 1. ARAQIYAT (Medicinal distilled water) Araqiyat are those liquid preparations which are made by using the drugs of plant, animal and mineral origin by the process of distillation involving the steps of evaporation and condensation. In preparing Araq (Distillate) different methods are employed. They may be prepared on the lines mentioned in the Unani texts or on the basis of modern techniques of Distillation but the basic principle involved in making all these preparations, the ingredient drugs are first soaked in water, boiled, and by way of evaporation the distillate is collected for use. The techniques which are given in Unani texts to make Araq (Distillate) are described below. There are two types of apparatus used for this purpose. a) Qara Ambeeq b) Deg Bhabka c) Distillation plant (Modern technique) 2. HUBOOB AND AQRAS (PILLS & TABLETS) Huboob (Pills) are small, round and uniform shaped medicinal preparations, while Aqras (Tablets) are flat and circular in shape. Size and shape of Huboob and Aqras vary and weigh from one tenth of a gram to one gram. BANADIQ are bigger forms of Huboob and weigh from one to three grams. There are two methods used for the preparation of Huboob and Aqras. a) Manual process: Huboob and Aqras are made manually by rolling the Lubdi between the fingers to shape the Huboob of required size and weight. Similarly, the Aqras are flattened by pressing with fingers. b) Mechanical process: Huboob and Aqras are made by modernized electrical machines. 3. KUSHTAJAT (CALX) Kushtajat are prepared from purified drugs of mineral, metal, and animal origin by the process of purification (Ghasl-e-Adviyah), cleaning (Tasfiyah) and detoxification (Tadbir-e-Adviyah). Thereafter, these drugs are generally powdered finely and burnt in closed chamber at different intensities of heat for calcinations. These calcined powdered drugs are called Kushtajat (Calx). Kushta (Calcined product) is easily absorbed in the human body and is highly efficacious in action. 4. MURABBAJAT AND GULQAND Murabbajat are those medicinal preparations where different medicinal fruits or vegetables are preserved in specially made sugar or honey base (Qiwam). As a rule big matured, clean and good quality fruits are taken for making the Murabbajat. First of all different kinds of fruits (peeled or unpeeled) are boiled in water and softened. The base of sugar or honey of a required consistency is separately made. Thereafter, the boiled fruits are soaked in the base for 24 hrs. Next day if the base still thinner than the required consistency, it is again boiled till the required consistency is obtained.

GULQAND Gulqand are the medicinal preparations similar to those of Murabbajat in which only petals of the different flowers are preserved in sugar or honey base. To make Gulqand, the flower petals are rubbed with sugar and kept in china clay containers to expose either sun or moon light as specified in the text. The petals and the flowers should be used according to the specification given in respective formulae of the formulary. 5. QAIROOTI AND ZIMAD Qairooti is a kind of Marham and resembles to it in appearance. It is prepared in same way as Marham, while Zimad is a powder preparation and always used in a paste form after mixing in any of the specified oils; water etc. at the time of use. Both Qairooti and Zimad, like Marham, are used externally. Marham, Qairooti and Zimad are generally prepared with the drugs having Muhallil (Resolving), Daf-e-Taffun (antiseptic), Habis (Styptic) and Qabiz (astringent) properties. 6. JAUHAR The process of sublimation is called Tas-eed. When the drugs like Kafoor, Samm-ul-Far, Gandhak and Raskapoor etc. are sublimated, therapeutically efficacious products for medicinal uses are produced. These products are called Jauhar and the process of Tas-eed in Urdu is called Jauhar ka Urana. The drugs having this property are called Zawil Arwah. 7. KOHAL Kohal (Surma) is the finest powder form of the medicinal preparations used externally to strengthen the eye sight and to cure other eye ailments. 8. MAJOON Majoon is a semisolid medicinal preparation where one or more single drugs of plant, animal or mineral origin are mixed in powder or liquid forms in the base (Qiwam) made of purified honey, sugar, candy etc. these includes preparation like Jawarish , Itrifal, Barshasha, Dawa-ul-Misk , Mufarrihat, Luboob, Khamirah, Laooq, Halwa and Tiryaq etc. 9. QUTUR Qutur are those liquid preparations which are used as eye drops. These eye drops are made either by dissolving the prescribed drugs in any of the specified Araq (Distillate) or merely by extracting the juice of any prescribed drug given in the respective formulae. 10. SHARBAT Sharbat are those medicinal preparations which are made either by preparing the decoction from the plant, animal and mineral origin drugs or by taking juice of the fruits from different plants and mixed with sugar and boiled to the required consistency.

11. RAUGHAN (OIL) Roughan (oil) is mostly used as a base as in case of ointment and is generally derived from plant source. Oil can be extracted from different part of

the 12. SUFOOF

plant,

viz

Maghziyat

(kernel

of

fruits),

flowers,

seeds

etc.

Powder form of any drug is known as Sufoof.