Effects of homeopathic high dilutions on plants: literature review

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Among the non-conventional assumptions of homeopathy, the use of medicines in high dilutions (HD) is a cause for objections and skepticism among the scientific community, trained within the dose-dependency paradigm of classic pharmacology. Research aiming at evidencing the effects of homeopathic HD has resource to several experimental models (in vitro, plants and animals).AIM: To describe the results of studies with high methodological quality that demonstrated positiveeffects of homeopathic HD on plants.METHODS: Taking reviews published until 2015 as reference source, we updated the information through addition of data from recent studies included in database PubMed.RESULTS: From 167 experimental studies analyzed, 48 met the minimum criteria of methodological quality, from which 29 detected specific effects of homeopathic high dilutions on plants through comparison to adequate controls.CONCLUSIONS: Despite the substandard methodological quality ofmost experiments, studies with systematic use of negative controls and reproducibility demonstrated significant indisputable effects of homeopathic HD on plants.(AU)