School of Advanced Unani Medicine

India is experiencing a seasonal rise in influenza during the monsoon/post-monsoon period. Recent surveillance reports describe Influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 as the predominant detected Influenza A strain. Most cases are mild/self-limiting, but high-risk and complicated cases require modern clinical management. ❗So, how can we apply Unani Medicine intelligently? I would approach Nazla-e-Waba’i / influenza-like illness through clinical phenotype + Mizaj, rather than giving one “anti-flu” prescription to everybody. 1️⃣ Balghami / Cold-Wet phenotype Features: nasal congestion, watery discharge, phlegmatic cough, heaviness, chills. Mufradat: Unnab + Sapistan + Behidana; Zufa + Asl-us-soos where appropriate. Nuskha: Joshanda: Behidana 3 g + Unnab 5 + Sapistan 7–9 + Zufa 3 g → decoction, warm, divided doses. 2️⃣ Safrawi / Hot-Dry phenotype Features: high fever, thirst, dry irritating cough, burning throat, scanty sputum. Mufradat: Behidana, Sapistan, Unnab, Banafsha. Nuskha: Behidana 3 g + Sapista...

Here is an uncomfortable question for the Unani community: If our predecessors questioned the knowledge they inherited, why are we sometimes afraid to question what we inherited from them? Greek medicine was not simply preserved by the Arab and Persian physicians. It was translated, debated, criticised, expanded and clinically reworked. Al-Razi challenged established views. Ibn Sina systematised and synthesised knowledge. Al-Zahrawi advanced surgery. Ibn al-Nafis challenged Galenic anatomy. They were not intellectual photocopiers. When the tradition reached India, it evolved again—through Indian clinical experience, local materia medica, pharmacological innovation and generations of physicians. That is the real history of Unani: evolution through inquiry. ❗So why should intellectual evolution stop with the classical masters? A classical statement deserves respect. But does it automatically deserve permanent immunity from questioning? A centuries-old therapeutic claim may be...

There was a time when a young Hakim did not merely read Hikmat—he learned to see like a Hakim. The Ustad–Shagird tradition was the original clinical training system. Students learned Mizaj, Nabz, subtle clinical clues, Mufrad Advia, Murakkabat, pharmacy practices and even Kushtajat through observation, demonstration, questioning, repetition and supervised practice. Then came institutionalisation. It brought structure, universities, examinations, departments, research and wider access—undoubtedly major achievements. But somewhere along the journey, we must ask: ❗Did we preserve the curriculum while losing part of the clinical culture that made Hikmat clinically alive? Today, a student may know the definition of Mizaj—but can he recognise it confidently at the bedside? He may memorise hundreds of Advia—but can he select the right Mufrad or Murakkab based on the patient's clinical picture? He may study classical texts—but can he convert their principles into a rational cli...

Unani physicians have prescribed different Itrifal formulations—not merely by naming individual drugs, but by combining them in specific proportions, sequences and dosage forms. The question is: Was this formulation design accidental—or does it contain therapeutic intelligence that modern science has yet to decode? This changes the way we should study Itrifal. Instead of asking only: “What does each ingredient do?” we should ask: ❗“What happens when these ingredients interact as a SYSTEM?” Does changing the ratio alter the pharmacological fingerprint? Does adding one drug redirect the therapeutic action? Can processing, particle size, extraction and dosage-form characteristics influence bioavailability? Can one constituent modify the absorption, metabolism, toxicity or biological activity of another? This is precisely where modern polyherbal pharmacology, phytochemical fingerprinting, network pharmacology and systems biology become relevant. A classical Itrifal can therefor...

What if the next frontier in understanding Akhlat is not another translation—but a biological investigation of what happens between food, digestion, metabolism and systemic physiology? Unani medicine places Meda, Hazm and the transformation of nutrition into Akhlat at the heart of physiological balance. Classical Akhlat should not, however, be casually equated with modern blood components, hormones or microbiota. They belong to different conceptual frameworks. Yet modern science has uncovered a remarkable intermediary system: the gut microbiome. Microbial metabolism generates short-chain fatty acids and transforms bile acids and other dietary substrates. These metabolites can influence intestinal barrier integrity, immunity, hepatic metabolism, glucose/lipid homeostasis and even extra-intestinal organs. This creates an intriguing Applied Unani research hypothesis: Meda → Hazm → Microbial Metabolism → Metabolites → Host Metabolism → Systemic Phenotype Could this pathway help...

A patient is called Safrawi + Balghami. Another Damwi + Saudawi. But does this really mean that one person has two opposite constitutional Mizajs? Perhaps not. The problem may be that we are confusing CONSTITUTION with PATHOLOGY. 🔥THE CLINICAL SHIFT BASELINE: Lean • active • heat-intolerant • thirsty • strong appetite → Safrawi constitutional tendency ↓ YEARS OF LIFESTYLE CHANGE ↓ - Irregular meals - Sedentary life - Poor sleep - Chronic stress ↓ NEW PHENOTYPE: Bloating • heaviness • mucus  • sluggish digestion ❌ “Safrawi + Balghami Mizaj” Perhaps a more precise Applied Unani formulation is: Safrawi constitutional Mizaj ➕ acquired Barid-Ratb Su’-e-Mizaj ➕ Meda-specific expression ➕ Maddi/Humoral involvement—only if established 🧠 THE KEY PRINCIPLE MIXED PHENOTYPE ≠ MIXED CONSTITUTION Unani terminology already recognizes Su’-e-Mizaj Sada, Murakkab and Maddi. The patient may therefore have one constitutional Mizaj with multiple acquired and organ-specific disturbances. T...

Perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Whenever we discuss Mizaj, we immediately try to explain it through metabolism, hormones, genetics, inflammation, autonomic function or biomarkers. But why must Classical Mizaj first become “modern” before it can become scientific? Perhaps Applied Unani needs a different pathway: Classical Mizaj → Classical clinical indicators → Structured assessment → Clinical pattern recognition → Individualized intervention → Measurable outcome In Unani, Mizaj is not simply a theoretical label. It is a fundamental clinical concept. The classical physician assessed the individual through observable domains—including complexion, body build, skin texture, hair, physical activity, diet, sleep, seasonal response, pulse and psychic/emotional characteristics. WHO’s international Unani terminology formally records these as the ten identifying features of temperament (Ajnas ‘Ashara / Adilla’-e-Mizaj). This gives us something remarkable: A classical clinic...