Unani & Herbal, Decoded

Gaozaban: Two Herbs, One Name, What You Must Know (Video)

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Read the full written guide: Gaozaban: Borage or Onosma? The Herb, Gul-e-Gaozaban and Arq Explained →

Discover how the Unani herb gaozaban actually refers to two different plants, borage and Onosma. We’ll show you how to tell them apart, the traditional forms you can use at home, and the key safety fact you should remember. This quick guide walks you through leaf identification, common preparations like gul-e-gaozaban, arq, and khamira, and who should avoid them. It’s practical, not medical advice, consult a professional for any health concerns.

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Transcript

Did you know the leaf of Gaozaban can be up to 15 cm long?

Did you know the leaf of Gaozaban can be up to 15 cm long?

Gaozaban: Two Herbs, One Name

Stick around and I’ll reveal the single safety fact you need to know about Gaozaban.

Two plants, one name

Gaozaban means ‘ox tongue’ in Persian and Arabic. The classic Unani herb is borage, Borago officinalis, a Mediterranean annual with cucumber-scented blue flowers. In South Asia the name often refers to Onosma bracteatum, a hairy Himalayan cousin.

Spot the leaf

To tell them apart, pull a dry leaf and hold it up to light. Borage leaves are broad, oval, 5-15 cm, puckered, with stiff white bristles that sting a fingertip and give a faint cucumber scent when soaked. Onosma leaves are long, strap-like, densely felted, and odorless.

Herb forms you can buy

The dried flower, called gul-e-gaozaban, is used in decoctions for colds and sweet drinks. The steam distillate, arq gaozaban, is a fragrant water with almost no plant material. The sugar paste, khamira gaozaban, comes plain or with pearls, amber or gold.

Traditional uses

Unani texts place gaozaban among the ‘mufarrehat’, cooling, moist herbs that lift the spirit, calm a racing pulse and soothe melancholy. It shows up in formulas for nervous weakness, sleeplessness, cough and the common cold, often paired with banafsha or arq kasni.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Borage, like comfrey, contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, natural chemicals that can damage tiny liver vessels and, with long use, may cause scarring or tumors in animals. The leaf holds only trace amounts, but the Max Rubner Institute in 2023 found several unregulated variants.

Home recipes & cautions

At home people simmer a few leaves or a teaspoon of flowers with banafsha, mulethi and cardamom for a soothing cold-season drink, sip a small glass of arq gaozaban, or enjoy a spoonful of khamira as a sweet tonic. These are food-style amounts for a few days.

Leaf size range

Borage leaves measure roughly five to fifteen centimeters long, a handy size to remember when you’re checking a sack at the market.

The one safety fact

The key safety tip is that borage leaf contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, so daily or pregnancy use isn’t recommended; Onosma’s alkaloid content isn’t clear, so treat both with caution.

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Read the full guide

Read the complete guide on thecareonline.com. This is general information, not medical advice.

Nothing on The Care Online is medical advice. Traditional practices are described as tradition, not as fact. Take a persistent or serious concern to a qualified professional. See how videos and posts are made on our methodology page.