A review of machines and devices to potentize homeopathic medicines.

BACKGROUND: Potentization, consisting of serial dilution and succussion, is a key step in the manufacture of homeopathic medicines. Originally prescribed as a manual process, several attempts at mechanization have been published, patented and even commercialised in order to remove the human element and introduce reproducibility without drudgery. Various machines have been used over the years to prepare homeopathic medicines. Although these machines follow the same principles, i.e. energetically mixing the medicines and diluting them significantly, their mode of operation is different from each other. METHODS: This review paper surveys the main methods of preparation of homeopathic medicines. The main machines discussed are: Boericke's potentizer, Tyler Kent's instrument, John Alphonse's machine and the fluxion potentizer, which were used in the past, as well as more recent potentizers like arm-and-weight instruments, the K-Tronic potentizer and Quinn's machine. We review the construction and operating principle of each of these machines, along with their advantages and limitations. A scheme for relative performance assessment of these machines is proposed based on the parameters mechanical efficiency, physico-chemical efficiency, turbulence generation, energy dissipation, and accuracy of dilution. RESULTS: Quinn's machine and the arm-and-weight potentizer perform well for generating turbulence due to high impaction forces, while John Alphonse's machine is much more accurate in diluting the homeopathic medicines at every step. CONCLUSIONS: Both the commercial potentizers, Quinn's machine and the K-Tronic potentizer, are completely automated and therefore reduce the manual labour and variation in succussive forces during each step, which may produce uniformity in physico-chemical changes within the resulting homeopathic medicines.

Number of succussion strokes affects effectiveness of ultra-high-diluted arsenic on in vitro wheat germination and polycrystalline structures obtained by droplet evaporation method.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate whether the number of succussion strokes applied after each dilution step when preparing the homeopathic treatments influences the effectiveness of ultra-high-diluted (UHD) arsenic trioxide at the 45th decimal dilution/dynamization (As2O3 45x). DESIGN: Wheat seeds, previously stressed with ponderal As2O3, were treated with: As2O3 45x, H2O 45x (dynamized control), or pure water (negative control). The succussion was done manually, and various succussion durations (numbers of strokes) were tested for each treatment. Treatment effectiveness was tested blind using the in vitro germination test and the droplet evaporation method (DEM). Data were processed by the Poisson test (germination test) and by two-way analysis of variance (DEM). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We evaluated both the in vitro germination rate, by counting the non-germinated seeds, and the complexity of polycrystalline structures (PCS) (local connected fractal dimension (LCFD)) obtained by evaporating leakage droplets from stressed seeds that had been watered with the different treatments. RESULTS: We observed a highly significant increase in germination rate when the number of strokes (NS) was ≥32 for both As2O3 45x and H2O 45x, and a significant increase in the LCFD of PCS for As2O3 45x when the NS was ≥32 and for H2O 45x when it was 70. CONCLUSIONS: Both experimental approaches showed increased effectiveness for treatments prepared with a higher number of succussion strokes. These results indicate that succussion may have an important influence on treatment effectiveness, and so highlight the need for further research.

Sustento científico de los medicamentos homeopáticos y su acción fisiológica, a partir de la mecánica cuántica / Scientific support of homeopathic medicines and their physiological action, based on quantum mechanics

En el siglo XIX la asociación de médicos de Alemania vio como una amenaza el avance de la medicina homeopática, por lo que solicitó al físico alemán Christian Andreas Doppler que realizara un estudio de los medicamentos homeopáticos. El resultado fue el ensayo titulado Grande y pequeño, que dice: "los agentes terapéuticos homeopáticos no actúan por su peso específico, sino que actúan por la acción ejercida por la extensión de la superficie". Sin proponérselo, dicho texto dio inició al formulamiento de las abses cinetíficas que explican la naturaleza y la acción de los medicamentos homeopáticos.El doctor Charles J. Hempel recopila este ensayo en su Materia médica y terapéutica y lo vincula con los procesos inventados por el doctor Hahnemann, trituración con azúcar de leeche y sucusión con alcohol, vehículos que impiden la reunión de los átomos por virtud de la afinidad de atracción que pueda excitar su contacto inmediato del uno al otro, despertándole sus propiedades terapéuticas y reactivando las propiedades cuánticas, y cómo las invenciones del doctor Hahnemann (trituración y sucusión) tienen aplicación en este proceso de conversión de sustancia natural a medicamento homeopático, para conseguir este fin. La trituración y la sucusión corresponden en la física cuántica actual a la ionización, que se compone de dos procesos: transducción y transición electrónica.Además, el doctor Hempel se basa en el resultado de este proceso de conversión para sustentar la acción fisiológica de los medicamntos homeopáticos en el organismo.(AU)

In the nineteenth century the association of german doctors saw as a threat the advancement of homeopathic medicine, so he asked the german physicist Christian Andreas Doppler to conduct a study of homeopathic medicines. The result was the essay entitled Big and small, in which he says: " homeopathic therapeutic agents do not act for their specific weight, but act by the action exerted by the extesion of the surface". Without proposing it, with this essay lays the foudations to lay the scientific basis for homeopathic medicines.Dr. Hempel compiles this essay in his Medical and therapeutic matter, and links it with the processes invented by Dr. Hahnemann, trituration with milk sugar and sucussion with alcohol, tht prevent the prevent the reunion of the atoms by virtue of the affinity of attraction that can excite their immediate contact of one to the other, awakening itd therapeutic properties and reactivating the quantum properties an like the inventions of Dr. Hahnemann (trituration and sucussion) have application in this process of conversion of natural substance to homeopathic medicine to achieve this end. The trituration and sucussion correspond in the current quantum physics to th ionization, wich is composed of two processes: transduction and electronic transition.In addition, Dr. Hempel takes the result of this process of conversion, as a basis to support the physiological action of homeopathic medicines in the bod.(AU)

Effects of additional agitation process on the spectrophotometric profiles of homeopathic high dilutions

Introduction: Conventional homeopathy advocates giving 10 strokes (agitation/succussions) to a prescription bottle containing liquid dilution, before taking it. To scientifically support such activity, it must be based on studies on the physicochemical aspects of the memory of water and agitated water chains, supplemented with spectrometry. Objective: To analyze spectrometric profiles of homeopathic high dilutions, comparing additionally agitated and non-agitated dilutions, and to define differences according to each dilution´s kingdom. Methodology: Homeopathic dilutions were prepared using a ratio of 1:100 obtaining dilutions from 1cH to 15cH. Measurements of absorbance of 15cH dilutions were performed at 340 nm and 200 nm, with and without additional agitation. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between agitated and non-agitated dilutions (p <0.05) for Apis mellifica, Bufo rana, and Calcium iodatum, with a decrease in the mean value of absorbance (340 nm) in agitated solutions. For A nica montana, Matricaria chamomilla, Coffea arabica, Pulsatilla nigricans, Calcium iodatum and Natrum muriaticum, the absorbance values increased; these values decreased for Apis and Bufo. In addition, measurements were performed with a shorter wavelength (200 nm); it was observed that there are significant differences for all homeopathic dilutions studied. Additionally, when comparing the mean values of the absorbance for each kingdom, and observing the agitation factor, a statistically significant difference was found in the animal kingdom (p<0.05), having lower absorbance for agitated dilutions. Conclusion: Comparisons of the spectrometric profiles of agitated and non-agitated solutions allow to observe that there is a difference of the absorbance when comparing a previously agitated solution and a solution with no agitation before taking it. (AU)

Effects of additional agitation process on the spectrophotometric profiles of homeopathic high dilutions

INTRODUCTION: Conventional homeopathy advocates giving 10 strokes (agitation/succussions) to a prescription bottle containing liquid dilution, before taking it. To scientifically support such activity, it must be based on studies on the physicochemical aspects of the memory of water and agitated water chains, supplemented with spectrometry. OBJECTIVE: To analyze spectrometric profiles of homeopathic high dilutions, comparing additionally agitated and non-agitated dilutions, and to define differences according to each dilution´s kingdom. METHODOLOGY: Homeopathic dilutions were prepared using a ratio of 1:100 obtaining dilutions from 1cH to 15cH. Measurements of absorbance of 15cH dilutions were performed at 340 nm and 200 nm, with and without additional agitation. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between agitated and non-agitated dilutions (p <0.05) for Apis mellifica, Bufo rana, and Calcium iodatum, with a decrease in the mean value of absorbance (340 nm) in agitated solutions. For A nica montana, Matricaria chamomilla, Coffea arabica, Pulsatilla nigricans, Calcium iodatum and Natrum muriaticum, the absorbance values increased; these values decreased for Apis and Bufo. In addition, measurements were performed with a shorter wavelength (200 nm); it was observed that there are significant differences for all homeopathic dilutions studied. Additionally, when comparing the mean values of the absorbance for each kingdom, and observing the agitation factor, a statistically significant difference was found in the animal kingdom (p<0.05), having lower absorbance for agitated dilutions. CONCLUSION: Comparisons of the spectrometric profiles of agitated and non-agitated solutions allow to observe that there is a difference of the absorbance when comparing a previously agitated solution and a solution with no agitation before taking it.