Background: Most criticism of homeopathy concerns the
lack of scientific bases and theoretical models. Fundamental
research could make important contributions to our understanding
of the mechanisms of action of homeopathic treatments.
Plant-based bioassays are suitable for basic research
- lacking the placebo effect and ensuring large data samples
for structured statistical analyses. Objective: The aim
of this study was to reproduce a previous experiment on the
effects of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) high dilutions on wheat
seedling growth in order to verify whether the same significant
results could be obtained working in a different place
and with a different experimental team. A further goal was
to investigate high dilution effects on variability. Material
and Methods: A structured experiment was performed blind
over 9 weeks, using wheat seeds previously stressed with a
sublethal dose of As2O3. The seeds were then treated with
either potentized As2O3 (5x, 15x, 25x, 35x, 45x), potentized
water (equivalent potencies) or diluted As2O3 (10-5, 10-15,
10-25, 10-35, 10-45). The working variable was the stem
length, measured after 4, 5, 6 and 7 days. Results: Some potencies
(As2O3 45x and H2O 45x) induced a relevant increase
in seedling growth and/or a variability decrease. Diluted
As2O3 did not induce any significant results. Conclusions:
Confirmation of a significant stimulating effect on seedling
growth and a significant decrease of variability was obtained
with ultra-high dilutions at the 45x potency. The
model of wheat germination and growth has been confirmed
to be a good tool for basic research in homeopathy.
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.
We studied the evaporation-induced pattern formation in droplets of common wheat kernel leakages prepared out of ancient and modern wheat cultivars as a possible tool for wheat quality analysis. The experiments showed that the substances which passed into the water during the soaking of the kernels created crystalline structures with different degrees of complexity while the droplets were evaporating. The forms ranged from spots and simple structures with single ramifications, through dendrites, up to highly organized hexagonal shapes and fractal-like structures. The patterns were observed and photographed using dark field microscopy in small magnifications. The evaluation of the patterns was performed both visually and by means of the fractal dimension analysis. From the results, it can be inferred that the wheat cultivars differed in their pattern-forming capacities. Two of the analyzed wheat cultivars showed poor pattern formation, whereas another two created well-formed and complex patterns. Additionally, the wheat cultivars were analyzed for their vigor by means of the germination test and measurement of the electrical conductivity of the grain leakages. The results showed that the more vigorous cultivars also created more complex patterns, whereas the weaker cultivars created predominantly poor forms. This observation suggests a correlation between the wheat seed quality and droplet evaporation patterns.
This study evaluates the effects of temperature and aging on the efficacy of As2O3 at the 45th decimal potency in a wheat germination model, compared against a control and potentized H2O 45×. Each treatment-temperature combination was tested on seeds (Triticum aestivum L.) of Pandas variety, using six Petri dishes (33 seeds/dish) per trial, performing eight trials. Seeds were pre-treated by poisoning with 0.1% As2O3 solution to reduce germination, to allow a better evaluation of homeopathic treatment effects. The outcome variable was the number of non-germinated seeds after 96 h. Temperature effect was investigated by heating each treatment in a water bath for 30 min (at 20, 40 or 70°C), or for 5 min (at 100°C), and that of aging by dividing experimental data, collected over a period of nearly five months, into two groups: early and late experiments. Results seem to show that the efficacy of As2O3 45× is unaltered at 20 and 40°C, increases at 70°C and decreases at 100°C. As regards aging, a notable difference was found between early trials, with no significant efficacy, and late trials, where As2O3 45× exhibits a repeated significant effect versus control, except at 100°C. A reduction in variability was observed for As2O3 45× at 20°C versus control, confirming the findings of previous work. The main conclusion suggested by this experiment is that the efficacy of As2O3 45× on wheat germination may be influenced by heating degree and seems to have an increasing trend as a function of aging.
A series of experiments, performed on plant models with
ultra high dilutions (UHD) of arsenic trioxide at 45th decimal
potency has been reviewed with a particular focus
on variability. The working variables considered are: the
number of germinated seeds out of a fixed set of 33, the
stem length of wheat seedlings and the number of
necrotic lesions in tobacco leaf disks inoculated with tobacco
mosaic virus (TMV). A thorough comparison between
treatment and control group has been proposed,
considering the two main sources of variability in each
series of experiments: variability within and between experiments.
In treated groups, a systematic decrease in
variability between-experiments, as well as a general decrease,
with very few exceptions, in variability within experiments
has been observed with respect to control.
Variability is traditionally considered as control parameter
of model systems. Our hypothesis, based on experimental
evidences, proposes a new role of variability as a
target of UHD action. This hypothesis may help interpret
unanswered questions that keep rising in basic and clinical
research in homeopathy.
A blind laboratory experiment was carried out to show the effect of a 45x potency of Arsenicum album (As2O3) on wheat seedlings whose seeds had been previously poisoned with a material dose of the same substance. The effect of the homoeopathic treatment on stem growth was statistically significant. The experimental results were matched with a previous study concerning homoeopathic treatment in the same species.
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