Unani & Herbal, Decoded
Joshanda, Safi, kushta, mizaj and the labels on herbal products, explained honestly: what is inside, what is fair to expect, and what to check before you buy.
227 posts in this series
Safoof (Unani Powder): What Hazim, Thandak and Mohazzil Hide
Safoof means powder. How a Unani safoof is made, why pinch measuring is imprecise, and which hazim, thandak, mohazzil and jiryan powders…
Gaozaban: Borage or Onosma? The Herb, Gul-e-Gaozaban and Arq Explained
Gaozaban is borage in the Unani books but usually Onosma in the shop. How to tell them apart, what the arq and…
Arq Makoh and Mako (Makoh): Liver Herb, Berries and the Poison Line
Arq makoh is distilled black nightshade water. What the Unani liver herb is, why green berries poison and the arq barely can,…
Bach (Vacha, Sweet Flag): Uses, Beta-Asarone Risk, Who Must Avoid It
Bach jadi buti (sweet flag) explained: Unani and Ayurvedic uses, why the US banned it from food, what shodhana does to beta-asarone,…
Salab Panja vs Salab Misri: The Endangered Orchid Hand, and Its Fakes
Salab panja is the hand shaped tuber of an endangered Himalayan orchid, often faked. How it differs from salab misri, the soak…
Behman Safed and Surkh: Paired Unani Roots Nobody Can Fully Identify
Behman safed and behman surkh are a classical Unani tonic pair whose botanical identity is unresolved. Tradition, the one small trial, price…
Tukhm-e-Karafs (Celery Seed): Not Ajwain, Unani Uses, BP Trials
Tukhm e karafs is celery seed, not ajwain. The smell test that separates three lookalike seeds, Unani uses, what BP trials show,…
Kushta Faulad (Iron Kushta): Anaemia, Taqat Claims, Unmeasured Iron
Kushta faulad is calcined iron sold for anaemia and taqat: why its iron is unmeasured, who must never take it, mercury in…
Shankhpushpi: Four Plants, One Name, and What the Syrup Really Holds
Shankhpushpi is at least four different plants. How to tell real Convolvulus from Evolvulus and blue pea, read a syrup label, and…
Khaksi (Khubkalan): The Seed in Sharbat Khaksi, and What It Isn’t
Khaksi, khubkalan and khakshir are one jelly-coated seed; khaksi sabzi is a gourd. What Sharbat Khaksi can do in measles and chickenpox,…
Kali Musli vs Safed Musli: Two Different Plants, One Confusing Name
Kali musli and safed musli are unrelated plants, not two grades of one herb. Tradition, the thin evidence, why black costs more,…
Anisoon (Aniseed): Not Saunf, Not Star Anise, and What It’s Really For
Anisoon is true anise, not saunf and not star anise. How to tell the three apart at the pansari, what yansoon tea…
Roghan Baiza Murgh (Egg Yolk Oil): Use, Smell and What to Expect
Roghan baiza murgh is egg yolk oil. How it's made, why it smells burnt, how to use the Hamdard bottle, the honest…
Laooq (Unani Linctus): Sapistan, Katan, Khiyarshambar and Badam
Laooq is Unani's lickable cough paste. Why it's licked not drunk, what Sapistan, Katan, Khiyarshambar and Badam contain, sugar and honey rules,…
Gul-e-Surkh (Dried Rose): Which Rose It Is and the Water Test
Gul e surkh is the damask rose, Rosa damascena. Which petals are really it, the water test that catches dye, Irani vs…
Tiryaq (Theriac): The Opium Antidote and the Products Named After It
Tiryaq means antidote. Tiryaq e Farooq carried opium and viper flesh; today's Tiryaq e Arba and Nazla are herbal pastes, one with…
Arq Badiyan (Fennel Water): Benefits, Risks, Why It Isn’t Star Anise
Arq badiyan is distilled fennel water, not star anise. What it does for gas, the weight-loss and baby colic claims checked, and…
Roghan Kahu, Kaddu and Khashkhash: Cooling Head Oils, the Kaddu Trap
Roghan kahu is lettuce seed oil, roghan kaddu is bottle gourd, not pumpkin, and roghan khashkhash has no opium. What these head…
Roghan e Gul, Banafsha and Babuna: Why the Rose Oil Smells of Sesame
Roghan e gul, banafsha and babuna are flower-infused sesame oils, not essential oils. What each is for, the nose test for fakes,…
Dragon Blood Resin (Damm-ul-Akhwain): Three Trees, Fakes, Creams
Dragon blood resin (Damm-ul-Akhwain): which three trees, the Unani tooth-powder tradition, the water test for dyed fakes, and the whitening-cream risk.
Roghan Zarareeh: The Hair Oil Named After a Blister Beetle
Roghan zarareeh is named after a blister beetle whose cantharidin burns skin: what the label lists today, the delayed-burn sign, and when…
Arq Mundi (Gorakhmundi): The Khoon Saaf Water for Skin, Checked
Arq mundi explained: the purple globe-thistle behind it, what a dilute distillate carries, the colour check on the bottle, and when boils…
Mur Makki (Myrrh): Mouth and Gum Uses, Fakes, and the Pregnancy Rule
Mur makki is myrrh: what the bitter resin is, its mouth and gum tradition, how to spot dyed fakes, and why it…
Kundur (Frankincense): Uses, Joint Evidence, and Why It Isn’t Loban
Kundur is frankincense (Boswellia resin), not the loban burnt at home. Grades, kundur water, what joint trials found, oil safety and real…
Mastagi Rumi (Mastic Gum): Stomach Evidence, Jawline Trend, Fakes
Mastagi (mastic gum) explained: what the Chios resin is, what trials found for indigestion and H. pylori, the jawline chewing risk, and…
Gond Kikar vs Gond Katira vs Gond Arabi: Which Gum Is Which
Gond kikar, gond katira and gond arabi are three different gums. The one-glass water test that tells them apart, honest benefits, fakes,…
Lal Chandan (Red Sandalwood) vs Safed Chandan: Skin, Price, Fakes
Lal chandan is a scentless red legume wood, not fragrant sandalwood. Skin claims checked, the no-smell and water tests for fakes, and…
Mulethi (Licorice Root): Skin, Voice Benefits and the BP Warning
Mulethi benefits, honestly: what licorice root does for pigmentation and the throat, the forms sold, and why regular use raises blood pressure.
Expensive Unani Ingredients: What You’re Really Paying For
Expensive Unani ingredients like warq, mushk, ambar, oud and zafran: why they cost so much, where fakes come in, the law, and…
Bhimseni Kapoor vs Regular Camphor: Uses, Price and Danger
Bhimseni kapoor is borneol, a camphor cousin. How it differs from puja kapoor, why it costs more, whether it's edible, and the…
Zahar Mohra Stone: The Poison Stone Myth and What It Really Is
Zahar mohra stone is sold to detect poison or draw out venom. What it really is, the 1567 test, fakes, and why…
Tabasheer (Banslochan): Bamboo Silica, Real vs Fake and Uses
Tabasheer (banslochan) is silica from inside bamboo joints. What it is, why real pieces cost more, how to spot fakes, and who…
Chandi Ka Warq (Edible Silver Leaf): Safety, Vegetarian, Prices
Chandi ka warq explained: what edible silver leaf is, the vegetarian question, aluminium fakes, argyria myths and how prices followed silver.
Sone Ka Warq (Edible Gold Leaf): Is It Safe, Why It Costs So Much
Sone ka warq is real gold beaten paper thin: safe on a sweet, no proven benefit. Why it costs so much, how…
Jadwar (Delphinium Denudatum): Unani Root, Toxins and Lookalikes
Jadwar is a rare Unani root with heart toxins. What it is, why it is costly, the aconite mix-up, poisoning signs, and…
Keera Jari (Yarsagumba): Kira Jari Price Boom, Claims and Risks
Keera jari (yarsagumba) explained: why caterpillar fungus costs so much, dated Nepal prices, cultivated vs wild, and the lead warning.
Zafran Price: Why Saffron Is So Expensive, Grades Then and Now
Zafran price explained: why saffron costs so much, ISO grades, Kashmiri prices from dated reports, and how to spot a too-cheap fake.
Chandan Price: Why Real Sandalwood (Safed Chandan) Costs So Much
Chandan price explained with dated auction figures: why real sandalwood is costly, how powder and oil are faked, and how to dilute…
Roghan Balsan (Balm of Gilead): The Legendary Oil and Its Fakes
Roghan balsan, the balm of Gilead of legend: what the real plant is, why genuine resin is almost unobtainable, what bottles hold,…
Oud Price: Why Real Agarwood Oil and Bakhoor Cost So Much
Oud price explained: why agarwood resin is rare, what Assam's 2026 export fetched, how fakes are made, and safe use of oud…
Khamira Marwareed: Pearls, Coral and Gems in Unani Tonics
Khamira marwareed, marjan and jawahar explained: pearl is mostly calcium carbonate, coral law, why jewelled tonics cost more, and heavy-metal risks.
Kahruba (Amber Resin): Unani Use, Teething Necklaces, Fakes
Kahruba is fossil amber, not ambergris. Its Unani tradition, why amber teething necklaces are dangerous, real vs fake tests and price by…
Ambergris Price, Real vs Fake, Law and Unani Use (Ambar)
Ambergris price, how whale ambar forms, why it is so costly, real vs fake checks, the law in India and elsewhere, and…
Kasturi (Mushk, Musk): Real vs Fake, Price, Law and Substitutes
Real kasturi comes from a protected musk deer, so most bazaar musk is synthetic or fake. Law, price signals, risks and legal…
Rasaut (Daruhaldi) for Eyes and Skin: Uses and the Warnings
Rasaut from daruhaldi: fair uses on skin and mouth ulcers, why it never goes in eyes, berberine interactions, pregnancy and newborn jaundice.
Chaksu Seeds for Eyes: Why You Should Never Put Them In
Chaksu seeds in the eye can scratch the cornea and carry infection. The tradition, the risks, safe flushing for grit and the…
Salab Misri (Salep): Strength Claims, Fakes and Wild Orchids
Salab misri is dried orchid tuber: a lovely milk thickener, an unproven men's tonic and often faked. How to spot real salep…
Kaunch Beej (Mucuna Pruriens): L-Dopa, Fertility Claims, Risks
Kaunch beej contains real L-dopa. What that means for fertility claims, the Parkinson's and antidepressant clashes, itchy pods, and who must avoid…
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