A review of Basic Research on Homoeopathy from a physicist’s point of view

Abstract

Homoeopathic medicine has been one of the world’s most widely practiced alternative therapies. However, that the potency of a homoeopathic medicine increases with dilution followed by succussion (together termed as potentization) has thrown challenges to the scientific community at large. A recent hypothesis, advanced by us and others, is that due to the process of potentization, the size of the constituent particles decreases and eventually reaches nanodimension. This decrease in size with increase in potency has been verified by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering studies. The increase in potency is manifested in its increased effect on membrane fluidity. The change in potency also leaves its signature on Ultraviolet–Visible spectra, Fourier transform infrared radiation spectra and Raman spectra. We have taken one step further to carry this nano‑dimensional property of homoeopathic medicine and put it into several technical applications. And in so doing, we have connected the important, old, un‑quantifiable effects with the latest quantifiable technology and opened up an era of applications with more possibilities.