The largest group in the formulation
Forty per cent of Majoon-e-Zafrani is a group of five botanicals: ashwagandha at ten per cent, safed musli at ten, shatavari at eight, and white and red behman at six each. In traditional terms these are restorative or tonic herbs, used in preparations intended for regular rather than occasional use.
Ashwagandha (Asgand Nagori)
Withania somnifera, known across the subcontinent as asgand and specified here as the Nagori variety, which is the type traditionally preferred. It is a root, dried and powdered. It has been used in Unani and Ayurvedic preparation for a very long time and is one of the most extensively studied botanicals in modern literature, though we make no claims here about what that literature shows.
Safed Musli
Chlorophytum borivilianum, a tuberous root native to India and Pakistan. It is expensive to cultivate, slow to mature, and consequently one of the more frequently adulterated ingredients in the category. Traditional preparations use it in restorative formulations, generally alongside other tonic herbs rather than alone.
Shatavari
Asparagus racemosus, a climbing plant whose roots are used. The name translates roughly as "hundred roots". It appears in nourishing formulations throughout the Ayurvedic and Unani traditions.
White and Red Behman
Behman safed and behman surkh are classical Unani ingredients, traditionally used as a pair rather than individually. Their inclusion here at six per cent each is what marks this as a Unani formulation rather than a general herbal blend.
Why the group matters more than any one herb
Traditional formulation treats these as a set. The proportions between them are the recipe; a preparation with the same five botanicals at different ratios is a different preparation. Publishing the individual percentages is the only way to communicate that, which is why we do.