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Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: طب یونانی tibb yūnānīthe transcription as Unani is found in 19th-century English language sources: "the Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine" "Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Hoshangabad", Gazetteer of India 17 (1827), p. 587.) is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscience. The Indian Medical Association describes Unani practitioners who claim to practice medicine as Quackery.
The term Yūnānī means 'Greek', referring to the fact that the Perso-Arabic system of medicine was based on the teachings of the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen."Unani Medicine in India: Its Origin and Fundamental Concepts" by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. IV Part 2 (Medicine and Life Sciences in India), Ed. B. V. Subbarayappa, Centre for Studies in Civilizations, Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 298-325
The Hellenistic origin of Unani medicine is still visible in its being based on the classical Humorism: phlegm (), blood ( dam), yellow bile ( ṣafrā) and black bile ( saudā'), but it has also been influenced by Ayurveda and Chinese medicine traditional systems.
Unani medicine interacted with Indian Buddhist medicine at the time of Alexander's invasion of India. There was a great exchange of knowledge at that time which is visible from the similarity of the basic conceptual frames of the two systems. The medical tradition of medieval Islam was introduced to India by the 12th century with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate and it took its own course of development during the Mughal Empire,Chishti, p. 2.Kapoor, p. 7264 influenced by Ayurveda teachings of Sushruta and Charaka. Exchanges between India and Central Asia in the field of Medicine by Hakeem Abdul Hameed"Interaction with China and Central Asia in the Field of Unani Medicine" by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. III Part 2 (India's Interaction with China, Central and West Asia), Ed. A. Rahman, Centre for Studies in Civilizations, Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2002, pp. 297-314 Alauddin Khalji (d. 1316) had several eminent physicians (Hakims) at his royal courts."Indian Hakims: Their Role in the medical care of India" by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. IV Part 2 (Medicine and Life Sciences in India), Ed. B. V. Subbarayappa, Centre for Studies in Civilizations, Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 371-426 This royal patronage led to the development of Unani in India, and also the creation of Unani literature.Bala, p. 45
The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body established in 1971 under the AYUSH (AYUSH), monitors higher education in areas of Indian medicine including Ayurveda, Unani, and other traditional medical systems. Another subdivision of AYUSH, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), aids and co-ordinates scientific research in the Unani system of medicine through a network of 22 nationwide research institutes and units.
To fight biopiracy and unethical patents, the Government of India set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in 2001 as repository of formulations used in Indian traditional medicine, including 98,700 Unani formulations. Traditional Knowledge Digital Library website.
In 1990, the total number of hakims or tabibs (practitioners of Unani medicine) in Pakistan was 51,883. The government of Pakistan's National Council for Tibb (NCT) is responsible for developing the curriculum of Unani courses and registering practitioners of the medicine. Various private foundations devote themselves to the research and production of Unani medicines, including the Hamdard Foundation, which also runs an Unani research institution. The Qarshi Foundation runs a similar institution, Qarshi University. The programs are accredited by Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, and the Pakistan Pharmacy Council.
The Indian Journal of Pharmacology notes:
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