{{Short description|South Asian Greco-Arabic traditional medicine}}
{{Infobox alternative medicine | name = Unani medicine | image = Parbat_Dard_Jangi_Tel|200px | caption = | claims = Health is maintained through the balance of four bodily humors, using a holistic approach of treatment. | topics = Ancient Greek medicine, Iranian traditional medicine, Ayurveda, Sowa Rigpa | culture = South Asia | orig_prop = Hippocrates, Galen, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) | classification = Traditional medicine | alt = Antique jar that previously contained medical treatments made by Hakims. | modality = Herbal medicine (or herbal pharmacotherapy), cupping therapy, regimental therapy (e.g. massage therapy, exercise), and surgical intervention }}{{Alternative medical systems|traditional|image = Double_folio_from_a_Kitab-i_hasha'ish_(The_book_of_herbs)_-_Google_Art_Project | 270px | caption = Scanned page from the Kitab-i hasha'ish (The book of herbs)}}
'''Unani medicine''' or '''Unani Tibb''' (Urdu: {{lang|ur|طب یونانی}} ''tibb-i-yūnānī''<ref>The transcription as ''Unani'' is found in 19th-century English language sources: "the ''Ayurvedic'' and ''Unani'' systems of medicine" "Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Hoshangabad", ''Gazetteer of India'' 17 (1827), [https://books.google.com/books?id=hqE8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA587 p. 587].</ref>) is a Greco-Arabic traditional medicine system practiced in areas of South Asia and Central Asia. Unani medicine uses the humoral theory of diagnosis, which predates the discovery of microbes and modern medicine. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific.<ref>{{cite web|title= Humoral Theory, Contagion – CURIOSity Digital Exhibits (Harvard.edu)|url=https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/contagion/feature/humoral-theory}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Microbes Cause Disease (researchgate) |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269279422}}</ref>
The term ''Yūnānī'' means 'Greek',<ref>{{cite book|author=William Dalrymple|title=City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PzQWAQAAMAAJ&q=greek|year=1994|publisher=Flamingo|isbn=978-0-00-637595-1|page=269}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Unani Tibb|url=http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/unanitibb|publisher=Science Museum, London|access-date=7 October 2017|archive-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211225942/http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/unanitibb|url-status=dead}}</ref> referring to the fact that the Greco-Arabic system of medicine was based on the teachings of the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen.<ref>"Unani Medicine in India: Its Origin and Fundamental Concepts" by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, ''History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization'', Vol. IV Part 2 (Medicine and Life Sciences in India), Ed. B. V. Subbarayappa, Centre for Studies in Civilizations, Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 298–325</ref>
The Hellenistic origin of Unani medicine is still visible in its being based on the classical four humours: phlegm ({{Transliteration|ur|balgham}}), blood (''dam''), yellow bile (''ṣafrā'') and black bile (''saudā''), but it has also been influenced by Indian and Chinese traditional systems.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The use of Chinese herbal drugs in Islamic medicine |journal=Journal of Integrative Medicine |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=363–7 |doi=10.1016/S2095-4964(15)60205-9 |pmid=26559361 |url=http://www.jcimjournal.com/jim/showAbstrPage.aspx?articleID=S2095-4964(15)60205-9 |year=2015 |last1=Heyadri |first1=Mojtaba |last2=Hashempur |first2=Mohammad Hashem |last3=Ayati |first3=Mohammad Hosein |last4=Quintern |first4=Detlev |last5=Nimrouzi |first5=Majid |last6=Mosavat |first6=Seyed Hamdollah |url-access=subscription |archive-date=2015-09-25 |access-date=2015-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925190817/http://www.jcimjournal.com/jim/showAbstrPage.aspx?articleID=S2095-4964%2815%2960205-9 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Etymology == The term ''Unani'' dates back to the ancient Greek place-name Ἰωνία (Iōnía), a coastal region on the eastern Aegean. The Ionians were the major ethnic group of the region, and their name became the primary Arabic and Persian reference for Greece as a civilization, known as ''Yūnānistan''.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ionian {{!}} Definition & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ionian |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260128065726/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ionian |archive-date=2026-01-28 |access-date=2026-03-11 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Yunanistan |date=2025-12-06 |work=Wiktionary, the free dictionary |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Yunanistan&oldid=88404915 |access-date=2026-03-11 |language=en}}</ref> ==History==
=== Ancient Greece (1200 BC – 600 AD) === thumb|203x203px| Chart of humoral theory|left Unani medicine established its foundations in ancient Greece. Hippocrates (c. 460–380 BCE) constructed the four-humor framework (blood (dam), phlegm (balg), yellow bile (safra), and black bile (sawda)), attributing the cause of disease to an imbalance of internal humoral and bodily composition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Masood |first1=Mohsin |last2=Fahad |first2=Ataullah |last3=Yasir |first3=Mohammed |date=2025-07-15 |title=Empirical Observation of Akhlāṭ: An Experimental Study |url=https://jddtonline.info/index.php/jddt/article/view/7264 |journal=Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics |language=en |volume=15 |issue=7 |pages=29–32 |doi=10.22270/jddt.v15i7.7264 |issn=2250-1177}}</ref>
Galen of Pergamon (born c. 129 CE) continued to elevate this humoral theory, contributing theories such as breath (pneuma) and "The Four Faculties of a living organism", consolidating the theoretical diagnostic structure that Unani Medicine would be built upon.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-06 |title=Experimental evidence for the humoral circulatory system – Hektoen International |url=https://hekint.org/2020/02/06/experimental-evidence-for-the-humoral-circulatory-system/ |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=hekint.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Islamic Golden Age (786–1258) ===
During the Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th centuries), Caliphs Harun Rashid and Al-Mansur commissioned Arabic translations of Greek and Sanskrit medical works via the Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bsoul |first=Labeeb Ahmed |date=2019 |title=Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-21703-7?error=cookies_not_supported&code=73b25378-55ad-43b2-8cd7-1125fa78ff05 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-21703-7 |isbn=978-3-030-21702-0 }}</ref> Al-Razi (c. 854–925 CE) built upon this information, producing the ''Kitab al-Hawi'' (The Comprehensive Book), one of the largest medical encyclopedias of the medieval world which contained important clinical contributions, including the first recorded distinction between smallpox and measles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Medical Influence of Rhazes {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/medical-influence-rhazes |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>
Following this, Ibn Sina (or Avicenna, 980–1037 CE) synthesized the vast medical knowledge into the ''Kitab al-Qanun fi al-tibb'' (The law of Medicine), finishing it in Hamadan, where he died in 1037 CE. The Kitab al-Qanun fi al-tibb is a set of 5 large texts, which remained a foundational medical reference in both Arab and European institutions for centuries after.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Significance of Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine in the Arab and Western worlds {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/significance-ibn-sinas-canon-medicine-arab-and-western-worlds |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Ibn Rushd (or Averroes, 1126–1198 CE) later produced the ''Kitab al-Kulliyyat fi al-Tibb'' (Colliget), a theoretical framework for Unani medicine that extended its reach westward into Al-Andalus.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Sage Journals: Discover world-class research |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/action/cookieAbsent |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=Sage Journals |language=en |doi=10.1177/0967772020981310}}</ref>
=== Mughal period (1526–1857) === left|thumb|272x272px|Depiction of Hakim Muhammad Sharif Khan Unani arrived in India by the 12th century, carried by Muslim scholars and grew its influence during court patronage throughout the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. When the Mongols invaded Persia and Central Asia, many Unani Hakims (physicians) were displaced, fleeing to India where some were appointed as court physicians.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmad |first=Ashfaque |title=Contribution of Alī Gilānī (1554–1609 AD), a 16th Century Physician of India, in the Treasure of Unani Medicine. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377455826 |journal=Journal of Indian Medical Heritage |pages=77–81 |via=Reaserchgate}}</ref> Furthermore, Emperors Akbar (r. 1556–1605), Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658), and Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) commissioned translations of Persian medical texts, enriching the medical practices and knowledge in the Mughal Empire.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Speziale |first=Fabrizio |date=2009-07-09 |title=The Circulation of Ayurvedic knowledge in Indo-Persian Medical Literature |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00584749 |journal=HAL Archives |language=en}}</ref>
One large document, The ''Ilajat-I Dara Shikohi'' ('Ilājāt-i Dārā Šikōhī), is one of the largest written Persian medical manuals composed in Mughal India. This document written by Nur al-Din Shirazi (Nūr al-Dīn Šīrāzī), compiled both Muslim and Indian medical arts and gave a vast overview of the knowledge circulating among Muslim physicians in the Mughal Empire.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Speziale |first=Fabrizio |date= |title=The Encounter of Medical Traditions in Nūr al-Dīn Šīrāzī's ʿIlājāt-i Dārā Šikōhī* |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/430281278/The-Encounter-of-Medical-Traditions-in-Dara-Shikoh?v=0.690 |journal=eJournal of Indian Medicine |pages=53–67 |via=HALSHS}}</ref> From the 18th century, Unani acquired a distinctly Indian character. The pharmacopoeia began using local herbs and minerals and the system of medicine passed down family-lineages, entering the vernacular literature.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Parveen |first1=Abida |last2=Ahmad |first2=Minhaj |last3=Parveen |first3=Bushra |last4=Parveen |first4=Rabea |last5=Iqbal |first5=Muhammad |title=The traditional system of Unani medicine, its origin, evolution and Indianisation: A critical appraisal |url=https://nopr.niscpr.res.in/bitstream/123456789/60204/1/IJTK%20Vol.21%283%29%20511-521.pdf |journal=Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=511–521 |via=NIScPR Online Periodicals Repository}}</ref>
=== British colonial period (1858–1947) === thumb|Hakim Ajmal Khan as depicted on the stamp of India|214x214px During British rule, Western medicine (referred to as doctory) was prioritized over traditional systems throughout the sub-continent, leading to a decline of traditional medical systems in British India. The dominant response and critique to Western medicine were Unani reformists who advocated for the legitimacy and retention of the Unani Tibb, considering it a distinct form of knowledge separate from Western medicine. Although they criticized the Western medical dominance, reformists emphasized adopting processes like the scientific method to Unani medical research.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Quaiser |first=Neshat |title=COLONIAL POLITICS OF MEDICINE AND POPULAR UNANI RESISTANCE |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342925130 |journal=Social History of Medicine |volume=2 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref>
In 1883, Hakim Abdul Majeed established the Madrasa Tibbia (now Tibbia College) in New Delhi, as an institutional response to the suppression of indigenous medical systems under British rule. Hakim Ajmal Khan (1868–1927) continued to expand this institution, using it as a platform to resist a proposed British ban on indigenous medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} Official Website of Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and Hospital, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India |url=http://app.delhi.gov.in/history |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=app.delhi.gov.in}}</ref>
=== Post-colonial period (1948 – current) ===
Following Indian independence in 1947, Unani, among other traditional medicine systems, gained formal governmental recognition after their colonial marginalization. The Majeedi family of Delhi made significant contributions toward the modernization of the Unani drug industry during this time. Particularly, Hakim Abdul Hameed (1908–1999) establishing the Institute of History of Medicine and Medical Research (IHMMR) in New Delhi in 1962, which developed into the Jamia Hamdard (deemed to be university) in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT- केंद्रीय यूनानी चिकित्सा अनुसंधान परिषद {{!}} Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine आयुष मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार {{!}} Ministry of Ayush, Government of India |url=https://ccrum.res.in/UserView?mid=1411 |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=ccrum.res.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Unani Medicine in India — an Overview |url=https://ccrum.res.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Origin%20of%20Development%20.pdf |journal=Ministry of Ayush, Government of India |via=Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine}}</ref> thumb|329x329px|The Minister of State for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik planting a sapling at Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine, in Hyderabad (September 30, 2015) The Indian government identified the need for standardization of indigenous medicine systems, culminating in the Indian Medicine Central Council Act of 1970,<ref>{{Cite web |date=1970 |title=THE INDIAN MEDICINE CENTRAL COUNCIL ACT |url=https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15396/1/ccim_act.pdf}}</ref> which established the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM, succeeded by National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) as the statutory body for maintaining uniform educational standards across Unani, Ayurveda, and Siddha programs nationally.
The Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), established in March 1978, serves as the apex government body coordinating scientific research into Unani pharmacology, clinical practice, and drug standardization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home- केंद्रीय यूनानी चिकित्सा अनुसंधान परिषद {{!}} Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine |url=https://ccrum.res.in/Home/#skipmaincontent |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=ccrum.res.in}}</ref> In 2014, the Government of India elevated the Department of AYUSH into a full ministry, formally situating Unani within the national health infrastructure of India (alongside Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha, and Homeopathy). Established in 1984, the National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) in Bengaluru serves as a pinnacle institution for postgraduate Unani education and research in India.
==Education and regulation==
=== India === thumb | left | Z.V.M. Unani Medical College in Pune |346x346px India hosts fifty-seven Unani medical colleges as of 2022, with the registered Unani medical practitioner base reaching an estimated 52,000 individuals as of 2024.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://ncismindia.org/A.%20List%20of%20Total%20UNANI%20Colleges%20across%20Country%20as%20on%2014.03.2023.pdf| title= A LIST OF TOTAL UNANI COLLEGES ACROSS COUNTRY as on 14.03.2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ansari | first1 = Athar Parvez | last2 = Anwar | first2 = Noman | last3 = Ahmed | first3 = K. Kibiruddin | publication-date = October 2024 | title = Current status of Unani medicine in India | journal = Journal of Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicine | volume = 10 | pages = 70–72 | doi = 10.31254/jahm.2024.10301 | doi-broken-date = 4 April 2026 }}</ref> The common undergraduate degree awarded on completion on an Unani medicine program is titled ''Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery'' (B.U.M.S.), although the name of this degree may vary slightly across institutions.
Postgraduate education in Unani medicine remains less widespread than undergraduate offerings, with a few colleges currently offering MD (Unani medicine) or PhD programs. Postgraduate studies in Unani medicine can range in disciplines, a few being: Mu'ālajāt (Medicine/Therapeutics), 'Ilm al-Adwiya (Pharmacology or Pharmacognosy), 'Ilm al-Saidla (Unani Pharmacy), among others.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ansari | first1 = Athar Parvez | last2 = Anwar | first2 = Noman | last3 = Ahmed | first3 = K. Kibiruddin | publication-date = October 2024 | title = Current status of Unani medicine in India | journal = Journal of Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicine | volume = 10 | pages = 70–72 | doi = 10.31254/jahm.2024.10301 | doi-broken-date = 4 April 2026 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= EDUCATION- केंद्रीय यूनानी चिकित्सा अनुसंधान परिषद | Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine आयुष मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार | Ministry of Ayush, Government of India| url= https://ccrum.res.in/ViewData/Multiple?mid=1544| i title= Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM)}}</ref>
The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body established in 1971 under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), monitors higher education in areas of Indian medicine including Ayurveda, Unani, and other traditional medical systems.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ayush.gov.in/?hl=en-US#!/aboutus | title= Ministry of AYUSH (About Us)}}</ref> Another subdivision of AYUSH, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tkdl.res.in/tkdl/LangSpanish/Unani/Una_ccrum.asp?GL=|title=Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) |publisher=Traditional Knowledge Digital Library}}</ref> aids and co-ordinates scientific research in the Unani system of medicine through a network of 22 nationwide research institutes and units.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crism.net/research.htm|title=Research and Development: Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM)|publisher=Centre for Research in Indian Systems of Medicine, (CRISM)}}</ref>
To fight biopiracy and unethical patents, the Government of India set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in 2001 as repository of formulations used in Indian traditional medicine, including 98,700 Unani formulations.<ref>[http://www.tkdl.res.in/tkdl/langdefault/common/ Traditional Knowledge Digital Library] website.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=61511 |title=Know Instances of Patenting on the UES of Medicinal Plants in India|date=May 6, 2010|publisher=PIB, Ministry of Environment and Forests}}</ref>
=== Pakistan === Pakistan maintains one of the largest active infrastructures for Unani education, clinical practice programs, and product manufacturing in Unani medicine. The estimated figure of registered Tabibs (or hakims) in Pakistan is up to 60,000 individuals who have obtained either diploma in Tibb-e-Unani or a bachelor degree in Unani medicine.<ref>"Unani Medicine: "From Wellness To Wellbeing" in Pakistan" via the Hamdard Foundation. </ref> The ''Bachelor of Eastern Medicine and Surgery'' (B.E.M.S.) is the undergraduate, six-year program (five years of study and one year house job) that formally prepares the student in Unani medicine practice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bachelor Of Eastern Medicine System (BEMS) – Welcome to Qarshi University |url=https://qu.edu.pk/department-of-eastern-medicine/bachelor-of-eastern-medicine-system-bems/ |access-date=2026-03-14 |language=en}}</ref> thumb|406x406px|Qarshi University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan There are ~40 institutions in Pakistan that provide education in Unani medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Council For Tibb |url=https://nct.gov.pk/NCT-Educations/Recognized-Institutions--(FTJ) |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250402124313/https://nct.gov.pk/NCT-Educations/Recognized-Institutions--(FTJ) |archive-date=2025-04-02 |access-date=2026-03-14 |website=nct.gov.pk |language=en}}</ref> Level of education can vary amongst diploma programs, such as the Fazil-e-Tibb-o-Jarahat diploma (FTJ), to postgraduate degrees in Unani medicine. Postgraduate education is predominately offered by the Faculty of Eastern Medicine at Hamdard University, which offers MPhil and PhD programs in Unani medicine (specializing in research oriented education).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faculty of Eastern Medicine {{!}} Hamdard University |url=https://www.hamdard.edu.pk/faculty-of-eastern-medicine/ |access-date=2026-03-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>
The National Council for Tibb (NCT) is a corporate regulating body, established under Section 3 of the Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Practitioners Act of 1965, operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination in Islamabad. The NCT oversees the, education, registration, monitoring of institutions and individuals, who wish to practice or provide education in Unani medicine.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=THE UNANI, AYURVEDIC AND HOMOEOPATHIC PRACTITIONERS, ACT, 1965. |url=https://hahnemann.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/UAH-ACT-1965.NCH_.pdf |journal=Gazette of Pakistan |pages=5–6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://nct.gov.pk/About-Us/National-Council-for-TIBB |website=The National Council of Tibb}}</ref>
There are private institutions who devote themselves to the research and production of Unani medicines, including the Hamdard Foundation, which also runs an Unani research institution.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://hamdard.edu.pk/hamdard-research-institute-of-unani-medicine/ | title=Hamdard Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Hamdard University | access-date=11 January 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20150115143654/http://hamdard.edu.pk/hamdard-research-institute-of-unani-medicine/|archive-date=15 January 2015}}</ref> The Qarshi Foundation runs a similar institution, Qarshi University.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qu.edu.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=98|title=Department of Eastern Medicine and Surgery, Qarshi University | access-date=11 January 2015}}</ref> The programs are accredited by Higher Education Commission,<ref>{{cite web|title=H.E.C. Accreditation List|url=http://www.hec.gov.pk/ourinstitutes/pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200812/http://www.hec.gov.pk/ourinstitutes/pages/default.aspx|archive-date=2013-10-29}}</ref> Pakistan Medical and Dental Council,<ref>{{cite web|title=PM&DC Accreditation List|url=http://www.pmdc.org.pk/AboutUs/RecognizedMedicalDentalColleges/tabid/109/Default.aspx|access-date=2012-08-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116114959/http://www.pmdc.org.pk/AboutUs/RecognizedMedicalDentalColleges/tabid/109/Default.aspx|archive-date=2012-01-16}}</ref> and the Pakistan Pharmacy Council.<ref>{{cite web|title=PCP Accreditation List|url=http://www.pharmacycouncil.org.pk/PI.php|publisher=Pharmacy Council of Pakistan|access-date=2013-02-19|archive-date=2018-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226032845/http://www.pharmacycouncil.org.pk/PI.php%20|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Criticism and safety issues== Some medicines traditionally used by Unani practitioners are known to be poisonous.<ref>{{cite book|title=Medical Marginality in South Asia: Situating Subaltern Therapeutics|page=171|last1=Arnold|first1=David|editor=David Hardiman, Projit Bihari Mukharji|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=9780415502412}}</ref>
The ''Indian Journal of Pharmacology'' notes: * According to WHO, "Pharmacovigilance activities are done to monitor detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of any obnoxious adverse reactions to drugs at therapeutic concentration that is used or is intended to be used to modify or explore physiological system or pathological states for the benefit of recipient." * These drugs may be any substance or product, including herbs and minerals for animals and human beings, and can even be that prescribed by practitioners of Unani or Ayurvedic system of medicine. In recent days, there is awareness related to safety and adverse drug reaction monitoring of herbal drugs including Unani drugs.<ref>{{cite journal| url = http://www.ijp-online.com/text.asp?2008/40/7/17/40238 | last1= Rahman | first1=SZ| last2=Latif| first2=A| last3= Khan| first3=RA| title= Importance of pharmacovigilance in Unani system of medicine | journal= Indian J. Pharmacol. |date=Dec 2008| volume=40| issue=7| pages= 17–20| doi= 10.4103/0253-7613.40238 | doi-access= free | pmid=21369407| pmc=3038517}}</ref> * The Indian Medical Association describes Unani, Ayurvedic, Siddha practitioners who practice medicine without having right qualifications and prescribing allopathic medicines as quacks.<ref name="IMA">{{cite web |last1=Aggarwal |first1=K. K. |last2=Sharma |first2=V. N. |title=IMA Anti Quackery Wing |url=https://www.ima-india.org/ima/archive-page-details.php?pid=291 |access-date=January 7, 2024 |work=Indian Medical Association |quote=Quacks can be divided amongst three basic categories ... Practitioners of Indian Medicine (Ayurvedic, Sidha, Tibb, Unani), Homeopathy, Naturopathy, commonly called Ayush, who are not qualified to practice Modern Medicine (Allopathy) but are practicing Modern Medicine.}}</ref>
==See also== * Ancient Greek medicine * Ayurveda * Cupping therapy * Herbal medicine * Iranian traditional medicine * Sowa Rigpa * Traditional Chinese medicine ==References== {{reflist|1=30em}}
==External links== * [https://hmddirectory.nlm.nih.gov/#CIndia Directory of History of Medicine Collection] {{Traditional Medicine}}
Category:Unani medicine Category:History of medieval medicine Category:Healthcare in Pakistan Category:Islam in India Category:Pseudoscience