Sharbat Toot Siyah and Banafsha: Unani Cough Sharbats Decoded
“Take a spoon of toot siyah and don’t drink water for a while”: most Pakistani families have heard some version of that for a scratchy throat. Sharbat-e-toot siyah (black mulberry syrup) and sharbat-e-banafsha (sweet violet syrup) are Unani sugar syrups that can soothe a sore, dry throat for a short while, much as any thick sweet syrup does. They can’t clear an infection, they’re mostly sugar, and some coughs need a doctor, not a bottle. Here’s what’s inside, what’s fair to expect, the age rules, and the red flags.
In brief
- Toot siyah: black mulberry juice cooked into a sugar syrup
- Banafsha: sweet violet flowers infused and made into a sugar syrup
- Fair to expect: a soothing coat on a sore throat, for a while
- Can’t do: kill germs, stop a chest infection or asthma, shorten flu
- How much: only as the pack says, or as a qualified practitioner advises
- Children: ask a doctor first under 6; nothing containing honey under 1
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Breathing is fast or noisy, the ribs pull in, or lips look bluish. Fever reaches 39 °C or lasts more than 3 days. There’s blood in the sputum, chest pain, or a cough that has gone on for 3 weeks. Any baby under 3 months has a fever. A child is unusually drowsy, won’t drink, or has very few wet nappies. Also not for home care or a hakeem: breathlessness at rest, unexplained weight loss, a new lump, yellow eyes, fits, sudden weakness or trouble speaking, and bleeding in pregnancy.
What sharbat toot siyah and sharbat banafsha contain
A Unani sharbat is a heavy sugar syrup used to carry a fruit’s or herb’s character and keep it from spoiling. The general idea across the family is covered in our explainer on jawarish, majoon, khameera, arq and sharbat; here we look at these two.
Sharbat-e-toot siyah
Toot siyah means black mulberry, the deep purple, sour-sweet fruit that stains your fingers in early summer. The sharbat is typically made from the fruit’s juice cooked with sugar until it keeps, which gives a nearly black, tart syrup. Hamdard and several other Unani makers sell it, and recipes can differ between makers, so the label is the only reliable list.
Sharbat-e-banafsha
Banafsha is the sweet violet, a small purple flower, and the sharbat is typically made by soaking or boiling the dried flowers, straining them out, and cooking the coloured liquid with sugar until it thickens; some products also blend banafsha with other herbs. We’ve written about the herb itself, and its cousin gaozaban, in banafsha and gaozaban for nazla, so this article sticks to the sharbat.
How much sugar?
Both are mostly sugar; that’s what makes them a sharbat. In a thick syrup like this, a 5 ml spoonful carries close to a level teaspoon of sugar. One spoon? Trivial. Several spoons a day, for a week, in a small child who then goes to sleep without brushing, is a different story for their teeth.
Sharbat e toot siyah and banafsha in the Unani tradition
Unani physicians classed banafsha as cold and moist, and used it for nazla and zukam (catarrh and colds), dry cough and feverish heat, and as a gentle laxative. Black mulberry was valued as a cooling, astringent fruit for the throat and mouth; sharbat toot siyah was sipped slowly or used as a gargle for a sore throat and mouth sores. Both were meant to soothe and settle, within a framework built on temperament (mizaj) and the four humours.
That framework doesn’t match modern physiology, but in practice some of it lines up, because a thick, sweet liquid really does coat an irritated throat and can calm the tickle for a while. That’s the same reason honey helps a cough in children over 1, and why lozenges help adults. Sour fruit acids also make you salivate, which feels soothing.
A sweet syrup soothes a throat. It doesn’t reach the germs causing the cough.
What’s fair to expect, and what they can’t do
Fair: a soothing, pleasant-tasting sip for a dry, scratchy throat or a tickly cough during an ordinary cold, which usually gets better on its own within 1 to 2 weeks. If it helps someone rest or feel cared for, that’s worth something.
Not fair: expecting them to kill bacteria or viruses, to stop a cough caused by asthma, reflux, pneumonia or TB, or to replace antibiotics when a doctor has found a bacterial infection. Nor do they shorten a cold. No herbal syrup has good evidence for that.
Myth: “cold” sharbats are fine for diabetics
Cold or hot is a temperament label, not a measure of sugar. A spoon of sharbat-e-banafsha raises blood sugar like any sugar syrup does.
Myth: if it’s herbal, a child can have as much as they like
Herbal isn’t the same as harmless. A child can get a lot of sugar from repeated spoons, and a syrup can hide a worsening illness while parents wait for it to work.
Did you know? The sweet violet was so prized for its scent that it became one of the classic notes in European perfumes, and its flowers are still candied as cake decorations. And the black mulberry, unlike the white one, is a tree that can live for centuries.
Age rules and a gentler home plan
- Under 1 year: no honey or honey-containing products, ever, because of infant botulism. No sugary syrups either. Babies with a cough need a doctor’s view if they’re unwell.
- Under 6 years: no over-the-counter cough or cold medicines. For herbal syrups, ask your child’s doctor or a pharmacist first. Plenty of fluids and rest do most of the work.
- Teeth: give any sugary syrup before brushing, not after, and never as a last thing in bed.
- Diabetes: count it as sugar, and don’t change your medicines; your doctor can suggest a sugar-free option.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: there’s little safety information for these herbs at medicinal strength, so check with your doctor before using them.
- Salt-water gargle (older children who can gargle, and adults): stir half a level teaspoon of salt into 250 ml of warm boiled water. Gargle and spit, a few times a day.
- Warm honey-lemon drink (over 1 year only): 1 teaspoon of honey and a squeeze of lemon in 150 ml of warm, not hot, water. Sip slowly.
- Fluids: keep a glass of water or warm clear soup within reach, and aim for pale yellow urine.
- Steam from a shower: sit in a steamy bathroom for 10 minutes. Skip bowls of boiling water with children, because of scald risk.
- Rest and watch: check the red-flag list at the top each morning and evening.
The broader comparison of bottled and homemade cough mixtures, including joshanda, is in Joshina vs homemade joshanda.
Buying sharbat toot siyah or banafsha: label checks
- A named manufacturer with an address, plus batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates.
- An ingredient list that names the fruit or flower and the sugar.
- A sealed cap and a clean label; skip anything sold loose or in unlabelled bottles.
- For products sold with health claims, a DRAP enlistment or registration number on the pack. Our DRAP check guide shows how to look one up.
- Directions for use and age limits. If there are none, ask a pharmacist.
Toot siyah and banafsha sharbat questions
What is sharbat e toot siyah used for?
Traditionally, it’s sipped or gargled for a sore throat and mouth sores. It’s a thick, sweet black mulberry syrup that can soothe an irritated throat for a while. It doesn’t clear an infection.
Is toot siyah by Hamdard good for cough?
It can soothe a dry, tickly throat during a cold, as a sweet syrup does. Use it only as the pack directs, and see a doctor for the red flags listed above, such as fast breathing or a fever over 3 days.
What is sharbat e banafsha?
A Unani syrup made from sweet violet flowers infused and cooked with sugar. It’s traditionally used for colds, catarrh and dry cough, and described in Unani as cold and moist.
Can I give sharbat toot siyah to my child?
Ask your child’s doctor or a pharmacist first if they’re under 6, and give nothing containing honey under 1. Older children can have it as the pack directs, before brushing their teeth.
Can diabetics take sharbat banafsha or toot siyah?
They’re sugar syrups, so they raise blood sugar. Ask your doctor for a sugar-free alternative, and don’t change your diabetes medicine.
Can I take these sharbats in pregnancy?
Check with your doctor first. There’s little safety information on these herbs at medicinal strength in pregnancy.
How long can I use them before seeing a doctor?
An ordinary cold cough usually improves within 1 to 2 weeks. See a doctor sooner for any red flag, and always for a cough lasting 3 weeks.
Should I drink water after taking the sharbat?
Many families wait a few minutes so the syrup can coat the throat. That’s harmless. Do drink plenty of fluids through the day, and rinse your mouth to protect your teeth.
Is there a homemade version?
You can simmer black mulberries with sugar into a syrup at home, and it’s a pleasant drink. As a throat soother it’s the same idea: a sweet coating, not a medicine.
More honest guides to the Unani shelf in Unani & Herbal, Decoded.