Nanoparticles and Homeopathy
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) scientists have conducted research leading them to believe that homeopathic remedies work on the principle of nanotechnology. Their research indicates that homeopathic remedies: a). contain measurable source and silica nanoparticles heterogeneously dispersed in colloidal solution; b). act by modulating biological function of the allostatic stress response network; c). evoke biphasic actions on living systems via organism-dependent adaptive and endogenously amplified effects; and, d). improve systemic resilience.
Six months after the British Medical Association rubbished homeopathy as witchcraft with no scientific basis, IIT scientists have now indicated that homeopathic remedies work on the principle of nanotechnology. Homeopathic pills containing naturally occurring metals such as gold, copper and iron retain their potency even when diluted to a nanometre or one-billionth of a metre, states the IIT-Bombay research published in the latest issue of ‘Homeopathy’, a peer-reviewed journal from reputed medical publishing firm Elsevier.
IIT Bombay’s chemical engineering department bought homeopathic pills from local shops, prepared highly diluted solutions and checked these under powerful electron microscopes to find nanoparticles of the original metals.
"Certain highly diluted homeopathic remedies made from metals still contain measurable amounts of the starting material, even at extreme dilutions of 1 part in 10 raised to 400 parts (200C)," said Dr. Jayesh Bellare from the scientific team. "Homeopathic pills get potent upon dilution".
His student, Prashant Chikramane, presented the homeopathy paper titled, ‘Extreme Homeopathic Dilutions Retain Starting Materials: A Nanoparticulate Perspective’, as part of his doctoral thesis.
"Homeopathy has been a conundrum for modern medicine. It's practitioners maintained that homeopathic pills got more potent on dilution, but they could never explain the mechanism scientifically enough for the modern scientists", said Dr. Bellare.
Homeopathy faces controversies because of its high dilutions beyond Avogadro’s number such as 30c and 200c (1060 and 10400 respectively). This study has demonstrated the presence of nanoparticles of the starting materials and their aggregates even at extremely high dilutions, using market samples of metal-derived medicines from two reputable manufacturers in India.
Researchers have demonstrated for the first time by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction and chemical analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) the presence of physical entities in these extreme dilutions. The confirmed presence of nanoparticles challenges current thinking about the role of dilutions in homeopathic remedies. They have found that the concentrations reach a plateau at the 6c potency and beyond.
Further, they have shown that despite large differences in the degree of dilution from 6c to 200c, there were no major differences in the nature of the particles (shape and size) of the starting material and their absolute concentrations (in pg/ml).
For Further Reading:
• Lupine Publishers have presented article from the Archives of Nanomedicine. The link is: https://lupinepublishers.com/nano-science-nano-technology-journal/fulltext/understanding-parallels-between-homeopathy-and-nanomedicine
• The Times of India have published an article describing this research at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/iit-b-team-shows-how-homeopathy-works/articleshow/7108579.cms
• The noted homeopath Dana Ullman, Director of Homeopathic Educational Services, Berkeley has published an article, “Exploring Possible Mechanisms of Hormesis and Homeopathy in the Light of Nanopharmacology and Ultra-High Dilutions” at: https://journals.sagepub.com/