HIGH DILUTION EFFECTS: PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "HIGH DILUTION EFFECTS: PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS"

Annabelle Barnett
5 years ago
Views:

1 HIGH DILUTION EFFECTS: PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS

2 High Dilution Effects: Physical and Biochemical Basis by Nirmal C. Sukul Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University and Anirban Sukul Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS NEW YORK, BOSTON, DORDRECHT, LONDON, MOSCOW

3 ebook ISBN: Print ISBN: Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Print 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordrecht All rights reserved No part of this ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written consent from the Publisher Created in the United States of America Visit Springer's ebookstore at: and the Springer Global Website Online at:

4 Dedicated to Dr. B.N. Chakravarty who has explored and realized some of the immense therapeutic potential of Homeopathy through years of his clinical observation.

5 CONTENTS Preface xi Introduction 1 Chapter I Preparation of high dilution of drugs Sources of drugs Plant materials Animal substances Minerals and chemicals Other biological materials Proving of drugs Preparation of mother tinctures Potentization of drugs 5 Succussion 5 Trituration Conversion of solid potencies into liquid ones Preservation of remedies and pharmaceutical forms 7 Summary 8 Chapter II Evidences for high dilution effects Clinical evidences Experimental evidences from animals Biological effects on mammals and birds 15 a) Catalepsy model 16 Oral route effective 16 Dose response 16 b) Righting reflex model 17 Aqueous ethanol, the effective medium Biological effects on amphibians 17 a) Young toads 17 b) Adult toads Effects on chronic alcoholism 18 a) Ethanol intake 18 b) Ethanol-induced neuropathy Effects on parasitic diseases Electrophysiological studies 23 a) Lateral hypothalamic neurons of cats 24 vii

6 viii CONTENTS b) Medial frontal cortex neurons of an awake rat 25 c) Hypothalamic neuronal responses of alcoholic rats to Nux vomica 26 d) Hypothalamic neuronal responses of rats on salty diet to Natrum mur 27 e) Effects on synaptic transmission Experimental evidences from plants Effect on parasites and pathogens of plants Evidences from in vitro tests Boyd s in vitro experiment and other related experiments In vitro experiment on red blood cells 36 Summary 37 Chapter III Physical basis of drugs at high dilutions NMR spectroscopy NMR spectra of homeopathic potencies Infra-red spectroscopy IR spectra of homeopathic potencies 52 Fourier Transform spectroscopy Electronic spectroscopy 55 Charge-transfer interaction 59 Solvation and electronic spectra Electronic spectra of homeopathic potencies Spectrofluorometry Application of fluorescence spectroscopy to homeopathy Thermoluminiscence Molecular association and water structure Structure and dynamics of liquid water 70 Transport phenomena in water 72 Action of a homeopathic potency 73 Water structure in presence of solutes 73 Trituration and nano particles 75 Aqueous ethanol as a medium 76 Summary 76 Chapter IV Mechanism of action of potentized drugs Lateralities and Homeopathy Time modalities and Homeopathy Similia principle and Homeopahty Non-linear systems and Homeopathy Miasms and their biological basis 84

7 CONTENTS ix 4.6. Polycrests, reappearance of past diseases and holism Action of drugs at ultra high dilutions Water as informational molecules Two components of a homeopathic potency Primary biomolecular target for a homeopathic potency The cell and the plasma membrane Membrane proteins Biomolecules in continuous water medium Aquaporins 92 Distribution in animals 93 Water Pump 93 Aquaporins in plants 94 Aquaporins in fungi and bacteria 94 Structure of aquaporin 95 Function of aquaporin : passage of water 96 Regulation of function of aquaporin and disease Interaction between a potency and biomolecules Role of carbohydrates in recognition process Structured water and early life 103 Summary 104 References 107 Subject Index 121 Author Index 127

8 PREFACE Our present day concept of pharmacology is restricted to the interaction between drug molecules and biomolecules. Any interaction beyond molecules and that too with the specificity of molecules is considered a myth in the arena of science. Since high dilution of drugs, which cross the Avogadro number, do not contain drug molecules they are not supposed to cause any action on a biological system. But high dilution effects have become the common experience of homeopathic physicians and their millions of patients all over the world. Besides clinical evidences, there is now a large body of experimental evidences which confirm that drug action beyond molecules on an organism is a reality. A drug leaves something, a phantom entity, in its high dilution. What is the physical feature of this phantom? How do the phantoms of different drugs differ from each other? How do they act on an organism? Do they always need a living system for producing an action or behave just as a chemical reacting with another chemical? The present book is an attempt to find answers to all these questions. The approach is scientific and based on the existing knowledge of science. Drugs at ultra high dilution have been used in the novel therapeutic system known as Homeopathy for about a couple of centuries. The system declined in the middle of the 20 th century because of keen competition from the conventional medicine. It has regained its past glory to some extent during the last couple of decades mainly because its drugs are effective, relatively inexpensive, non-invasive with respect to drug delivery and have little undesirable side reactions. Unravelling the mysteries of this important therapeutic system offers a challenge not only to biologists but also to physicists and chemists as well. Although the business potential of homeopathic medicines is not as much lucrative at present as the conventional medicine, scientific research on homeopathy would certainly open up new avenues to the ultimate benefit and welfare of the mankind. The book has four chapters besides introduction. In the 1 st chapter sources of homeopathic drugs, their preparation techniques, and preservation have been described. The 2nd chapter deals with the clinical evidences obtained in support of the high dilution effects on human patients. In the same chapter evidences recorded from laboratory experiments on animals and plants have been described. Experimental evidences from in vitro and ex vivo tests have also been included here. The 3rd chapter describes the physical characteristics of drugs at ultra high dilutions as evidenced by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, infrared (IR) spectra, electronic spectra and fluorescence spectra of some selected potentized drugs. Since water is thought to carry the information of drug molecules or particles at high dilutions, the structure and dynamics of liquid water as the medium of homeopathic potencies have been discussed here. In the 4th chapter the possible mechanism of action of high dilutions in the living system has been discussed in terms of xi

9 xii PREFACE interaction between structured water molecules of a potency and its primary biomolecular target in an organism. The association of water structure with the primordial life forms during the emergence of life on this planet has been discussed at the end. We would consider our work worthwhile if it could develop interest in scientists and practising physicians and engage them in serious research to open the black box of Homeopathy and explore its vast therapeutic potential. We thank our research scholars like Paramita Sarkar, Souvik Ghosh, Ashis De and Sudeshna Ghosh for conducting all the experimental works. We thank Dr. B.N. Chakravarty for providing financial support to our latest investigations. We also thank the Head of the department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University for providing necessary laboratory facilities for conducting experimental work on Homeopathy. Santiniketan September 2003 N.C. Sukul A. Sukul

HIGH DILUTION EFFECTS: PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS

HIGH DILUTION EFFECTS: PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS High Dilution Effects: Physical and Biochemical Basis by Nirmal C. Sukul Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University and Anirban Sukul Department