How to Check If a Herbal or Unani Product Is DRAP-Enlisted
Turn the box over before you turn the money over. On a herbal or Unani product sold in Pakistan, the back of the pack should carry an enlistment number from DRAP, the maker’s name and address, a batch number, dates, and a list of what is inside. Two minutes with the box tells you more than twenty minutes of a seller’s video.
Before you buy
- DRAP: the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, which also oversees “alternative medicines and health products” (Unani, Ayurvedic, homeopathic, herbal, nutraceutical)
- Enlisted, not registered: these products are enlisted under separate rules; “registered” is the stricter word used for conventional medicines
- What enlistment means: the maker and product are on DRAP’s list and the maker holds a licence; it does not mean the product was tested to work
- What to look for: an enlistment number, manufacturer name and full address, batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, ingredients, net weight
- Walk away from: no ingredients, no address, miracle claims, testimonials as evidence, “no side effects”, and anything sold for stamina or weight with a “secret formula”
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What DRAP enlistment is, and is not
Conventional medicines in Pakistan are registered with DRAP, which involves evidence of safety and effect. Traditional and herbal products fall under a lighter system called enlistment, brought in through rules for alternative medicines and health products. A manufacturer applies, the site is licensed, the product is placed on a list, and it receives a number that must appear on the pack. Enlistment tells you the product exists officially, that someone is accountable for it, and that the maker has a licensed premises that can, in principle, be inspected.
It does not tell you the product does what the seller says. It does not mean every batch was analysed for lead, arsenic or hidden drugs. And it does not cover the thousands of powders and majoons sold from clinics, WhatsApp and Facebook that never applied at all. So treat enlistment as the floor, not the ceiling: necessary, and not sufficient.
What the enlistment number looks like and where to find it
Formats vary between products and years, so we will not invent a template. In practice you are looking for wording along the lines of “Enlistment No.” followed by a number, often near the manufacturer’s details or the barcode on the back or side of the pack. Some packs also show a manufacturing licence number for the factory, which is a different number. A product that carries only a “Reg. No.” from a body other than DRAP, a trade-mark number, or nothing at all has not shown you enlistment. The rest of the panel (ingredient order, proprietary versus classical formula, the AYUSH mark on Indian imports) is decoded in our guide to reading a herbal product label.
To check the number, DRAP publishes lists of enlisted alternative medicine products and of licensed manufacturers on its official website, along with alerts and recalls. Search there for the product or the maker’s name. If you cannot find the product but the pack carries a number, ask the seller for the enlistment certificate; a genuine maker has it and will show it.
The two-minute pack check
- 0 to 20 seconds: the number. Find “Enlistment No.” on the pack. None? Put it back, whatever the shop says.
- 20 to 40 seconds: the maker. A company name and a full postal address (street, city), not just “Made in Pakistan” or a mobile number. A maker with an address can be inspected and complained about.
- 40 to 70 seconds: the ingredients. Every ingredient named, ideally with the amount of each per dose or per 100 g. “Herbal mixture”, “special formula” or a list in tiny grey print that stops after three items is a refusal to tell you.
- 70 to 90 seconds: batch and dates. A batch number, a manufacturing date and an expiry date, printed (often stamped) rather than part of the artwork. Missing dates on a “natural” product are a warning, not a charm.
- 90 to 110 seconds: the claims. Read the front. “Supports”, “traditionally used for” and “helps maintain” are the language of an honest label. “Cures”, “100% guaranteed”, “permanent”, “in 7 days”, “no side effects” and “doctor-proven” are not.
- 110 to 120 seconds: the seal. An intact tamper seal on syrups and a sealed inner pouch on powders. Refilled bottles are a real trade.
What “not for medicinal use” and similar wording means
Many packs carry a line like “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease”, “not for medicinal use”, “food supplement” or “for general wellbeing”. Read it plainly. The maker is telling you, in the words the rules require, that the product is sold as a supplement or a traditional preparation and not as a medicine. So any treatment claim the seller makes out loud, on Facebook or in the shop, is a claim the maker itself has disowned on the box. When the video says “sugar khatam” and the pack says “not intended to treat any disease”, the pack is the one that is legally accountable, and it is telling you the truth.
The classical Unani pharmacy had its own accountability: a dispensary was known by its hakeem, the hakeem staked his name on every jar, and a formula was written in the texts for anyone to read. Enlistment is the modern version of the same principle. A maker who hides the formula, the address and the name is breaking with the tradition as much as with the regulation. Hamdard, Qarshi and the other long-established houses list their ingredients and carry their numbers; that is worth noticing.
Red flags on a label, in order of seriousness
No ingredient list
The single biggest one. Products sold for weight loss, stamina, joint pain and sugar without a full ingredient list are the ones repeatedly found, on testing, to contain undeclared sibutramine, sildenafil, steroids, painkillers or metallic kushta. You cannot avoid an ingredient you are not told about, and a doctor cannot help you with a reaction to it.
No manufacturer address
A mobile number and a brand name are not a manufacturer. If something goes wrong there is nobody to inspect, recall or answer.
Miracle claims
“Permanent cure”, “guaranteed”, “15 kg in 45 days”, “sugar and BP finished”, “hair back in 30 days”. No honest traditional preparation does any of these, and the makers who know their products best never print such words.
Testimonials as evidence
Before-and-after photos, WhatsApp screenshots and “thousands of satisfied customers” are marketing, not evidence, and are the easiest thing in the world to fabricate. A label that leans on them is telling you it has nothing else.
“No side effects”
Every substance that does anything can do something unwanted. Senna cramps, mulethi raises blood pressure, ashwagandha shifts thyroid levels; a maker claiming zero side effects either does not know the product or does not want you to.
Also worth a frown
A price that seems to be the main feature. “Imported” with no country of origin. Copycat packaging that looks like a famous brand with one letter changed. “DRAP approved” or “DRAP certified” printed as a slogan, which is a slogan, not an enlistment status. A product sold as a food supplement whose seller talks about it as a medicine.
Myth: an enlisted product is a proven product
Enlistment means the maker is on the list and can be held to account. It is a paperwork check, not a clinical one. An enlisted majoon can still be a sweet paste with modest effects, and an enlisted tonic can still be mostly sugar. The number gets you to the honest end of the shelf; the ingredient list and your own expectations do the rest. Our guide to jawarish, majoon, khameera, arq and sharbat explains what those forms actually contain.
Keep the box
When you do buy a herbal product, tear off or photograph the panel with the enlistment number, batch number and maker’s address before you throw the packaging away. If you react to it, or a doctor asks what you have been taking, or DRAP publishes a recall for that batch, you will have the three things that make a complaint or a diagnosis possible. It takes 10 seconds and almost nobody does it.
An enlistment number does not make a product safe for you personally. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should assume traditional preparations are untested for them unless a doctor says otherwise. Children should get only what the pack directs for their age. Anyone taking tablets for blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid, the heart or clotting should let their doctor know about every herbal product before starting, and should not stop or change prescribed medicine on a seller’s advice. If a product has made you unwell, stop it, keep the pack, and see a doctor with it; DRAP accepts complaints about alternative medicine products. And no label, enlisted or not, is the answer to chest pain, trouble breathing, blood in the stool, urine or sputum, unexplained weight loss, a lump, a fever over 3 days, jaundice, a fit, a sudden droop, weakness or slurred speech, bleeding in pregnancy, or fever in a baby under 3 months. Those are a doctor’s, today.
Reading a pack is a skill, and a cheap one. It sorts the honest, modest traditional products from the ones designed to take your money and, sometimes, your health. That sorting is the whole purpose of Unani & Herbal, Decoded.
Questions people ask
How do I check if a herbal product is DRAP-enlisted?
Look on the back or side of the pack for wording like “Enlistment No.” followed by a number, usually near the maker’s name, batch number or barcode. Then search the product or maker’s name in the lists of enlisted alternative medicine products that DRAP publishes on its official website. If it isn’t there, ask the seller for the enlistment certificate.
Does DRAP enlistment mean the product works?
No. Enlistment means the product and a licensed maker are on DRAP’s list and someone is accountable for it. It’s a paperwork check, not proof of effect, and it doesn’t mean every batch was tested for metals or hidden drugs. Treat it as the floor: necessary, not sufficient.
What is the difference between DRAP registered and enlisted?
Registration is the stricter route used for conventional medicines, with evidence of safety and effect. Unani, Ayurvedic, homeopathic, herbal and nutraceutical products fall under the lighter enlistment system. “DRAP approved” or “DRAP certified” printed as a slogan on the front is neither; look for the actual number.
Where exactly is the enlistment number on a pack?
Usually on the back or side panel near the manufacturer’s details, batch number and dates, sometimes by the barcode. On a bottle it may sit on the back of the label or only on the outer carton, one good reason to keep the carton. A manufacturing licence number is a different number for the factory.
What if the product has a number but I can’t find it on DRAP’s list?
Ask the seller or maker for the enlistment certificate. Lists aren’t always up to date, but a genuine maker has the paper and will show it. If neither the list nor the maker can confirm it, treat the number as unverified and don’t buy.
What are the red flags on a herbal product label?
In order of seriousness: no ingredient list, no manufacturer address, miracle promises (“permanent”, “guaranteed”, “15 kg in 45 days”), testimonials in place of evidence, and “no side effects”. Products for weight, stamina, joints and sugar with no ingredient list are the ones most often found hiding steroids, sildenafil or sibutramine.
Is a product sold on Facebook or Instagram ever enlisted?
Some are; the platform doesn’t decide. Run exactly the same check: number, full address, ingredients, batch and dates, and the wording of the claims. A seller who can’t send a clear photo of the back of the pack with those details is telling you something.
Does enlistment mean the product was tested for heavy metals?
Not batch by batch. For metals, ask for a laboratory certificate for that specific batch, especially with salajeet, anything that might contain kushta, and imported powders.
Can I report a herbal product to DRAP?
Yes. DRAP takes complaints about alternative medicine products and publishes alerts and recalls. Keep the pack, the batch number and the seller’s details, and if you were harmed, a doctor’s note. Photographing the back panel when you buy anything herbal makes this possible later.
Are imported Ayurvedic or Chinese herbal products covered?
Imported alternative products are meant to be enlisted too, and the same checks apply. A product with no Pakistani importer’s name and address, no ingredients in a language you can read, or no dates is best left alone.
What does “not for medicinal use” or “food supplement” on a pack mean?
The maker is saying, in the wording the rules require, that it’s sold as a supplement or traditional preparation and not as a medicine. So any promise the seller makes out loud about sugar, BP or weight is one the box itself disowns. Keep expectations modest.
Is an enlisted product safe in pregnancy or with my medicines?
Enlistment says nothing about you personally. Assume traditional preparations are untested in pregnancy and breastfeeding unless a doctor says otherwise, give children only what the pack directs for their age, and tell your doctor before starting anything if you take BP, diabetes, thyroid, heart or blood-thinning tablets.