The Unani System Of Medicine

I

N

D

I

A

N

M

E

D

I

C

I

N

A

L

P

L

A

N

T

S

       To maintain the correct humoural balance, there is a power of self-preservation or adjustment called Quwwate-Mudabbira (vis medicatrix naturae) in the body. If this power weakens, an imbalance of the humoural composition is bound to occur. This causes the disease. In the Unani system, good reliance is placed on this power. The medicines used in fact help the body to retain this power to an optimum level and thereby restore the humoural balance, thus restoring health. In addition, a correct diet and proper digestion are considered to be important in the maintenance of the humoural balance.

        In the Unani system, temperament (mizaj) has an important place, and forms the basis of pathology, diagnosis and treatment. The Galenic concept of temperament being sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric or meloncholic, finds expression in the Unani system that considers each individual as unique. The modern psycho-neuro-endocrinical concept is often taken in support of the idea that temperament is unique to an individual and that a shift in the temperament brings about a change in the person’s state of health (Said, 1983). Thus, disease is the consequence of humoural imbalance in the body and of the failure of one or more parts of the body to get rid of pathogenic waste from the body.

        As the humours, the drugs are also assigned temperaments. A drug considered hot, produces a temperament

        The basic philosophy of the Unani system is that the body, composed of matter and spirit, is taken as a whole since a harmonious life is possible only when there is a proper balance between the physical and spiritual functions. It aims not only to correct the present disturbance but also to make the individual emerge after recovery with a greater power of resistance to future disturbances.

        Another distinctive feature of the Unani system is its emphasis on the diagnostic importance of Nabz, the pulse, the rhythmic expansion of the arteries which is felt by the fingers of the physician. Other methods of diagnosis include examination of Baul (urine) and Boraz (stool).

        The Unani system recognises the influence of one’s surroundings and the ecological conditions on the state of health of human beings. The system aims at restoring the equilibrium of various elements and faculties of the human body. It has laid down six essential pre-requisites for the prevention of disease and places great emphasis, on the one hand on the maintenance of proper ecological balance and on the other, on keeping water, food and air free from pollution. These essentials, known as ‘Asab-e-sistta Zarooriya’, are the air, food and drinks, bodily movements, psychic movements, repose, sleep and wakefulness, and excretion and retention.

         In the Unani system, various types of treatment are employed such as ilaj bit tad bur (regimental therapy), ilaj bil Ghiza (diet therapy), ilaz bid Dawa (pharmaco-therapy) and jarhat (surgery). The regimental therapy includes, vivisection, cupping, diaphoresis, diuresis, Turkish bath, massage, cautery, purging, emesis, exercise, leeching, etc. Dietotherapy aims at treating certain ailments by the administration of specific diets or by regulating the quality and quantity of food. The pharmaco-therapy deals with the use of naturally occurring drugs of predominantly mineral or animal origin. Surgery that has been in use in Unani practice for a long time, employs surgical procedures for which certain instruments and techniques have been designed.

        In Unani medicine, single drugs or combinations in the raw form are preferred, over compound formulations. The Unani Materia Medica is very vast, but most of the ingredients are locally available and easy to obtain. The naturally occurring drugs used in the system are symbolic of life and are generally free from side effects. And such drugs as are toxic are processed from crude material and purified in many ways before use.

        The medicines are polypharmaceuticals in the form of decoctions, infusions, tablets, powders, confections, syrups, and aquas.

        In the Unani system, although the general preference is for single drugs, compound formulations are also employed in the treatment of various complex and chronic diseases. Since this system lays stress upon the particular temperament of the individual, the medicines administered are such as go well with the temperament of the patient, thus accelerating the process of recovery and also eliminate the risk drug reactions. For these reasons, the treatment varies with the individual, even for the same disorder.

       The prescription is given in the name of God and begins with Howash Shafi (God is the healer). It contains instructions on the dosage and method of preparation of the medicine, diet, rest, etc.

      The tabib, the Unani medical practitioner, is not merely a doctor; he is the guide, on even moral and social values. There are tabibas, the lady doctors, to treat women.

        The Unani pharmacopoeia (Said, 1969) has a rich armamentarium of natural drugs, consisting of mostly herbs but also material of animal, mineral and marine origin. There are over 2,000 species of plants in the Unani Materia Medica (Daljithsimha, 1974), of which many species of plants occurring in India found a place (Fathima, 1994).

        Research was conducted on the efficacy of species such as Adhatoda vasica, Boerhaavia diffusa, Cephalandra indica, Nardostachys jatamansi, Peganum haramala, Podophyllum species, Psoralea corylifolia, Rauvolfia serpentina, Saraca asoca, Swertia chirata, Tamarix dioica, etc., (Said, 1983), which are also popular in Ayurveda. Nevertheless, by and large, the Unani pharmacopoeia lacks in a detailed experimental, physicochemical and bio-mathematical data (Said, 1983), but the medication is considered nearly always safe.

        Presently there are several recognised institutions in the Indian subcontinent that train and give academic degrees, in the Unani system. The curriculum includes modern concepts of para-clinical and clinical aspects of medicine. As is the case with other systems of Alternative medicine, in Unani also there are qualified practitioners, academically unqualified but very experienced and traditional practitioners and of course, quacks. The system expressly forbids quacks but now a days there is little control, even though the Governments in most countries have constituted legal bodies to regulate the practice of the system.

REFERENCES

Baquai, F.U. 1977. Traditional medicine in Pakistan. Hamdard Foundation, Karachi.

Daljithsimha, K. 1974. Unani dravyagunadarshana. Ayurvedic and Tibbi Academy, Lucknow.

Fathima, T. 1994. Glossary of medicinal plants in Unani medicine. M.Sc., (Applied botany) dissertation. Bangalore University, India.

Said, H.M. 1969. (ed.) Hamdard pharmacopoeia of eastern medicine. Institute of Health and Tibbi Research, Karachi.

Said, H.M. 1983. The Unani system of health and medicare. In Traditional medicine and health care coverage. (eds.) Bannermann, R.H., Burton, J. and Wen-Cheih, C. WHO, Geneva. pp 61-67.

Sathyanarayana Bhat and Kameswara Rao, C. 1993. Unaani vaidya parichaya (in Kannada). Directorate of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, Government of Karnataka. pp 22.