Role of Impaired Digestion in Disease Pathogenesis: According to Unani System of Medicine

Year : 2026 | Volume : 13 | Issue : 02 | Page : 30 36
By

Shagufta Parveen,

Patel Mohd Furqan Ahmad,

Usmani Sana Kamal,

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of IBT, Hayat Unani Medical College and Research Center Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. Assistant Professor, Department of Moalijat, Mohammadia Tibbiya College and Assayer Hospital, Malegaon, Nashik, Maharashtra, India
  3. Assistant Professor, Department of Moalijat, ZH Unani Medical College & Hospital, Siwan, Bihar, India

Abstract

The relationship between digestion and disease occupies a central position in Greco-Arab (Unani) medicine, as emphasized by classical physicians such as Ibn Sina and Al-Razi. In Unani medicine, digestion (Haḍm) is not confined to the gastrointestinal tract alone but represents a comprehensive physiological and metabolic process involving four sequential stages: gastric digestion (Haḍm-e-Mi‘dī), hepatic digestion (Haḍm-e-Kabidī), vascular digestion (Haḍm-e-‘Urūqī), and tissue digestion (Haḍm-e-‘Uḍwī). These stages are governed by Quwwat-e-Hāḍima (digestive faculty) and driven by Ḥarārat-e-Gharīziyya (innate heat), which collectively ensure the formation of healthy humours (Akhlāṭ) necessary for nutrition, growth, and maintenance of bodily equilibrium. According to classical Unani literature, impairment at any stage of digestion results in defective transformation of food, leading to the formation of abnormal chyme, deranged humours, and excessive waste products (Fuḍlāt). When these wastes are not adequately eliminated due to weakness of the expulsive faculty (Quwwat-e-Dāfi‘a), they accumulate as morbid matter (Mādda), which plays a pivotal role in disease causation. Poor digestion is therefore regarded as a fundamental etiological factor underlying both simple temperamental disorders (Sū’-i-Mizāj) and matter-associated diseases (Sū’-i-Mizāj Māddī). Classical physicians further described how defective digestion may contribute to systemic disturbances involving the nervous, cardiovascular, hepatic, and integumentary systems. Several factors contribute to digestive impairment, including weakness of innate heat, unsuitable dietary habits, sedentary lifestyle, excessive moisture-producing foods, and derangement of temperament (Mizāj). A vicious cycle develops in which accumulated morbid matter further weakens digestive faculties and innate heat, thereby aggravating disease progression. This review highlights the central importance of maintaining digestive integrity through appropriate dietary regulation, lifestyle modification, preservation of innate heat, and strengthening of digestive faculties. The Greco-Arab perspective presents a holistic framework of health that conceptually parallels modern preventive and metabolic medicine, emphasizing digestion as a cornerstone of disease prevention and maintenance of health

Keywords: Unani medicine, Greco-Arab medicine, Haḍm, Ḥarārat-e-Gharīziyya, morbid matter, Akhlāṭ, disease pathogenesis

[This article belongs to Research & Reviews : A Journal of Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy ]

How to cite this article: Shagufta Parveen, Patel Mohd Furqan Ahmad, Usmani Sana Kamal. Role of Impaired Digestion in Disease Pathogenesis: According to Unani System of Medicine. Research & Reviews : A Journal of Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. 2026; 13(02):30-36.
How to cite this URL: Shagufta Parveen, Patel Mohd Furqan Ahmad, Usmani Sana Kamal. Role of Impaired Digestion in Disease Pathogenesis: According to Unani System of Medicine. Research & Reviews : A Journal of Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. 2026; 13(02):30-36. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rrjoush/article=2026/view=248144

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Regular Issue Subscription Review Article
Volume 13
Issue 02
Received 12/04/2026
Accepted 15/06/2026
Published 16/06/2026
Publication Time 65 Days

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