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Homoeopathy
Explained Man's
quest for knowledge makes him to enquire into the essential process of nature.
Curiosity and necessity makes him stumble upon many discoveries.
Science grew from man's wild fancies and imaginations.
But now, it dictates and directs our thinking process.
Man has condensed every bit of knowledge into a series of scientific
formulas and mathematical equations. Anything
beyond these formulations is branched as unscientific, illogical and therefore
unacceptable. Homoeopathy
couldn't be laid down as a matter of equation and formulas, so many remain
skeptical about its scientific basis. Science has failed to explain Homoeopathy
because it still lacks in the essentials to explain its process. Therefore
homeopathy remains enigmatic to the scientific community. To clear this there is
a need of extensive research through paths untreaded so far. Also the science
has to develop into new heights. But
one can also utilise the resources available presently to shed light into at
least some aspects regarding the scientificity of the system. Homeopathy has not
only got a large mass of accumulated evidence of its success over the last 200
years but also much experimental data, which shows the efficacy of high
dilutions, minimum dose and the law of similars. Experimental dataResearch
done on animals, plants and cultures of microorganisms shows that homoeopathic
medicines are effective even in dilutions that pass the Avagadro's limit.
Research workers have studied the action of Korsakovian dilutions on
cultures of staphylococcus. They
have also shown the inhibitive action of calendula on staphylococcus.
Thuja in dilute doses was found to disturb the psychic balance of
rats. Many such experiments have
been done and the data are recorded. One
of the famous experiments carried out was by Jacques Benveniste, who published
the results in his paper 'Human basophilic degranulation triggered by very
dilute antiserum against IgE'. In
this experiment he treated basophils having IgE attached to it with anti IgE.
Basophils were found to undergo degranuation.
The antiserum containing anti IgE was then diluted upto 10-2
to 10-120 times, until no molecules of the original anti
IgE existed. This diluted antiserum
was then treated with IgE attached to it. Surprisingly basophilic degranulation
still occured. So even in the
absence of original IgE molecules, the reaction or cure can take place. Concepts explaining homeopathySome of the scientists have taken a step
forward to propose new scientific models to explain ‘the homeopathic
process’. 1)
Light isotopic model Light
isotopic model is proposed by Dr. A.C.Dutta to explain the action of potentised
medicine. According to him in the
process of homeopathic potentisation increasingly strong electrical fields are
produced, which help in the formation of electron-positron pairs otherwise
called positronium units.
In the vicinity of drug molecules, these positronium complexes,
which imitate the electronic arrangement of drug molecules.
These positronium complexes behave like the very therapeutic properties
even in their absence. These light
isotopic molecules also act as auto-catalyst giving rise to next generation of
positronium complexes resembling drug molecules.
Thus potencies become more and more powerful with higher dynamisation. 2.
Biological specificity and resonant promotion of lone pair electrons The
concept of biological specificity and resonant promotion of lone pair electrons
is put forward by Dr. Rati Ram Sharma. The
open International University of Complementary Medicine, Colombo, even nominated
his studies for the prestigious Nobel Prize. According
to this concept, the lone pair of electrons in the vehicle molecules (alcohol,
water and lactose) gets resonantly promoted during dynamisation. During
this process, the vehicle molecules achieve the same number of active electrons
and same exchangeable energies as the drug molecules.
Thus the vehicle molecules exhibit the properties of drug molecules.
He also introduces a new concept of Xenobiotics, which he equates
to drug molecules, foreign bodies or any disease causing organisms and explains
all biological phenomenon on the basis of it. 3.
Forward and reverse reaction of biomolecules/ biotemplates on water This concept is introduced by Dr.Mahata. According to him water molecules are capable of taking the imprint of foreign molecules in its vicinity. Therefore highly potentised medicine will contain water molecules having the imprint of original drug molecules. Mahata says that disease occurs by forward
reaction of biotemplates/biomolecules upon water. i.e. diseased biomolecules of
body gives a specific imprint to the water content of the cells. Thus the
imprint of the disease is stamped on the water content of the cells. The
reversed reaction of water upon biomolecules/biotemplates is brought about by
potentised medicine. Here the water molecules having the imprint of drugs exert
a corrective influence upon biomolecules thus changing them into healthy form. 4.
IE Crystals Even
though this concept was not put forward to explain the action of homoeopathic
medicine, homoeopaths think that there is a possible link between IE Crystal
theory and the action of homoeopathic medicines. According
to this theory water can exists as minute ice crystals in a solution. The shape
of these crystals is influenced when a substance is placed in distilled water
and vigorously shaken and diluted. And these crystals, even though minute in
size are extremely stable in a wide variety of environments. Applying this to
homeopathy we can possibly state that potentised medicines contain IE crystals
having specific shapes depending on the original drug molecule. 5.
Bioinformatics Bioinformatics
is built upon the concept of genome.
Human Genome Project states that there are 30,000 genes in human beings.
Understanding how gene works provides clue to how diseases are caused and
how a cure can be effected. Human genome points out the need of individual
medicine for each person's peculiar genetic make up. Modern Medicine is finally,
thinking of the concept of individualization, which homoeopathy was insisting
for the past 200 years. Dr.
P.N.Varma, the renowned homoeopathic scientist and the founder of Homeopathic
Pharmacopoeia Laboratory and of Central Council of Research in Homoeopahty uses
bioinformatics to give an explanation for homoeopahty. He took inspiration from
the works of scientists of ‘Kalaya University’, who suggested gene
expression as possible mode of action in ‘radiation protection’
(protection from the hazardous effects of radiation) by homoeopathic medicine Ginseng
200 on biological models. Dr.P.N. Varma says that the idea of
individualistic medicine suggested by genomics is similar to ‘constitutional
medicine’ which homoeopathy is speaking for so long.
He uses immunology to explain that, the self regulatory mechanisms of
body, which is in turn controlled by genes, could be influenced by homoeopathic
medicines. He replaces the word
'vital force' with a new terminology 'biological responses'. He
says this concept requires more scientific work so that gene expression can be
linked to homoeopathy. This
scientific model based on bioinfomatics explains the concept of health, cure,
vital force (biological responses)
and the action of medicines to effect a cure. Many such concepts are now proposed, so
also many new discoveries are adopted by homoeopaths to suggest a possible
scientific explanation for the system of Homoeopathy. Merits of the new conceptsThey
are able to surpass the restrictions set by Avagadro's Law. Viewing in light of
Avagadro's law a potency above 12x or 24c will not have any
original drug molecules. Therefore it becomes impossible for high potencies to
have medicinal value. This is over ruled by the new concept, which shows that an
imprint of original drug molecules could be made upon vehicle molecules. So even
in absence of original drug molecules vehicle molecules bear the properties of
drug molecules. Many
of the new concepts have experimental basis to support it. Some
of them are even consistent with ‘wave mechanisms’ and ‘thermodynamics’. LimitationsSome
of the new concepts still have a hypothetical base and are backed by indirect
evidences. These
concepts could explain only, the action of potentised medicines, some could be
extended to explain drug providing and dynamics of health and disease but they
fail to explain other phenomena like susceptibility, primary and secondary
actions of medicines, idiosyncrasy etc. They also fail to explain and define the
vital force, except may be the bioinformatics/genome theory. One
wonders at the necessity of having such an explanation for homoeopathy. But,
surely the advantages of having a firm scientific basis weighs much. The genius
of scientific community will have their attention turned to this relatively new
system of healing by such a feet. Subsequently the amount of research invested
into this field will increase, which in turn will expand our horizon. References 1)
Homoeopathy in the light of modern science- A.C Dutts 2)
Journal-Homoeopathic Update Vol-6/96 3)
Journal - Homoeopathic Heritage Vol-4/97 4)
Homoeopathic Medical Panorama Vol-9/2 5)
Homoeopathy for all Vol-3/5
A ghost came to my clinic one day. The story goes like this. Miss. J, a fourteen year old girl, was under my care for some times now for ‘Allergic Rhinitis’ and related symptomatology. One day her father came to the clinic to report that she is having some kind of a fear. He sounded troubled. “In the last evening”, as he told me, “she had an attack of freight. She was studying in the portico of the house, as her school final exams were only two weeks ahead. It was almost twilight around six forty five. All of a sudden she came running inside screaming. She clutched her mother and tried to say something. But could not articulate due uncontrollable sobbing and the anguish. She was shaking like a leaf and her face was ashen. Finally, after some time she managed to explain it. While she was sitting there in the ‘varandha’ reading her text somebody called her name and shook her shoulders. She only had a dim vision about the person as it happened so quickly and the figure disappeared quickly as well. There was no body in sight in the entire portico, which was rather a large one, after the incident, which increased her apprehension”.
“Her mother ventured to go out to see who was it but she adamantly refused.
Clutching her even firmly and telling that he will harm her too. She neither
allowed her younger brother or even the grand father both were there in the
house, to investigate the matter. She was repeatedly telling all of them to stay
away from the varandha and even refused to look at that direction. In short she
was behaving like she was mad!”
“Was there any body, who tried to injure her in some way”? I asked her
father. “That’s the most interesting thing”, he told me. “During the
whole episode her ‘grandpa’ was sitting there in the portico itself reading
newspaper. He observed nothing but her starting up suddenly from the chair and
running inside screaming and rushed behind her to see what’s it. But she did
not notice him nor was aware of his presence there!”
Any way the out come was that she was now resting at her relative’s house some
distance away as she altogether refused to remain in her home. It should be
particularly noted that she exited from her house through the back door to avoid
the portico. More over she was much concerned about her grand parents who
remained in the house. She couldn’t focus on her studies, which was worrying
too due to the imminent exams.
Thinking over the problem and analyzing her history, which will be explained
now, I dispensed with him two doses of our ever reliable, second best remedy saccharum
lactis officianale, to be administered one immediately on reaching home and
one at early morning next day and to report in the evening.
Before proceeding further we have to look at some of the backgrounds.
She cam to me first some seven months back with chronic sneezing fits at
infrequent intervals at any time of the day. The complaints started more than a
year back. Her nasal septum on examination showed deviated to the left side and
there were also polyps. But the funny thing was her complaints occurred only at
her home and mostly –if not, only- during Saturdays and Sundays. To be more
correct there was also sneezing fits on any other day when the school is off! No
complaints at all at the school or school days!
It took two more sessions with her to fish out the real reason behind her
troubles. Despite being an average student she managed just to pass the exams.
Lately as she entered her tenth standard her marks plummeted and she even failed
in two subjects in the quarterly exams. Nevertheless she found to be much
interested in securing more marks and a decent grade. Even getting a rank was
not a farfetched dream in her plans. In fact some times she was quiet worried
about her memory and ability to learn. Complaining all the times she cannot cop
up with study.
That explained her low marks. The anxiety induced by higher ambition without
considering her real mettle was tapping from her energy as well as ability. This
created failure to comply with the academic performance required and the vicious
cycle generated further conflicts. This is evident from the fact that her
complaints accentuated in their intensity once she got first prize in a district
wise essay competition, which might have boosted her belief in herself.
But it didn’t stop there either. Gradually she developed a craving for
excellence so that she despised days without school. A somewhat complex scenario
as it was against the usual outcome of such cases. The natural sequence of the
allergic symptoms gave her a good base to build up the disease. So whenever
there was no school the allergy was the worse! I explained
Part of all these to her parents as they seemed not that much educated to
understand all the technicalities behind this. But I did say this much to them
that it is easy to control her allergy but unless we do something about her
studies it may persist or will manifest in some other form. She took drugs
regularly and her sneezing fits almost disappeared. But interestingly, now she
developed a kind of headache. The pain comes mostly on temples and aggravates by
reading, but the thing to be noticed is that it occurred almost always on no
school days.
As it is the case she was subjected to counseling. The main objective we
achieved was resetting her aim as to get 60-65% marks in the school final exams
instead of her ambitions of higher marks. She was also advised about improved
study techniques as well as memory enhancing techniques. With all these she
showed marked improvement and was having a healthy appetite for study. Even her
grades were improving as shown by her class-test assessments.
This may have given readers some idea about the state of her mind and the
vulnerability of her psych. That’s why I interpreted her acute mental abrasion
as a manifestation of hysteria. One other fact also has to be considered along
with this. This year due to technical reason there was uncertainty about the
date of commencement of the school final exams to which every body attaches so
great an importance here. The same
was announced to begin after two weeks and the announcement came just two days
before her ordeal. Any girl of her kind in this state will be more than worried.
So, I thought, I correctly diagnosed her and prescribed the placebo.
The next day he telephoned to say that she is not at all better and is bringing
her in. She came with both her
parents. A beautiful kid with pleasant attire, who normally presented herself
smartly whenever she came, now resembled a crumbled bit of paper to me.
The wear of suffering was etched there so clearly on her face. Her eyes
were all uncertainty. I began with some mild questions and then asked her to
explain in full what occurred on that evening.
“I was reading my books there in the varandha when all of sudden somebody
called out my name. I was so alarmed and ran inside. There was definitely
somebody who even tried to shake me up”.
“Who was that? Can you recollect him now?”
“I didn’t see any one in particular. Usually there will be nobody around and
it do not make me so frightened.”
I was startled! “Usually means, did you have similar experience before?”
“Oh, it happens all the time! But usually there will be only a voice calling
out. It generally happens when I am alone at the kitchen or at any remote area
of the house”
“Did you do anything about this? Was there any thing other than this happening
to her?” I asked the parents.
It was her mother, who startled me even more now. “We do not mind that much
about it. The voice calls out the names of all of us whenever one of us is alone
in any part of the house. My mother and sisters all had it. Ours is an old large
house with so many rooms. All of the upstairs is left unoccupied. Nobody go
there after sundown because something or somebody will be there. We can here
noises and voices from there. In the ground floor the mischief is limited mainly
to kitchen and the prayer room.”
So that’s it. A typical haunted house. But it attacks only the female
population or it seemed.
“No”, the father corrected me.
“Once her uncle and his newly wedded wife spent the night in one of the rooms
upstairs. He being in the Middle East for the last four years did not believe in
any of these tales. After midnight at about three o’clock an apparition clad
in white robes and a big white turbine came up and greeted them! Without
uttering anything they came down and some how completed their sleep. After that
the area is permanently unattended. Occasionally two or three of us together go
up there to clean up. That’s all.”
To tell the truth, I felt something slowly creeping up my spine! It was getting
bigger all the time.
Now I was in a dilemma. The girl was not showing any signs of true psychosis. To
subject her to psychiatric treatment will most probably worsen the whole
affaire. But there was either no time to waste because of her exams.
Any way I prescribed two doses of Aconitum 1M to be taken at bed time and
the next morning. I gave her a strong suggestion too to concentrate in
the studies and forget all about the affair. I then secretly instructed her
father to wait for only two days and then if there is no change to consult a
psychiatrist, of which, I gave the name of one with whom I am having a good
rapport.
After about ten days her grand father came to the clinic as part of his routine
visit for some of his ailments. He reported that she is perfectly all right by
the next day itself and is actively engaged in her study. More over she is in
her own house now.
He also further enlightened me on the fact that there is provision for the ghost
in the legal document of house itself. It is written there that spiritual
rituals should be conducted at regular intervals for their satisfaction. The new
generation, he remarked is not observing all these rules and will have to face
the natural consequences.
A fitting anticlimax occurred when I asked him the real sequence of the events,
as he was the only witness on that day. He looked at around himself, as if
afraid somebody will hear him, before answering. “You please do not tell
anybody about it. What really happened was this. She was sitting there in a
recliner reading the books. I was sitting some distance away reading newspaper.
Once when I looked up she was fast asleep with the book on her lap. It was also
getting dark. So I went up and shook her by shoulder calling out her name! She
woke up from the sleep with a start and rushed inside screaming. I was so
frightened that I didn’t say anybody about it till now!”
I assured him that I will not disclose this to her as by this time she is out of
the ordeal any way.
Now about two months have passed. Last week I got the word that now she is quite
well. She got passed her exams with decent marks and is looking forward to
continuing with plus one. Most important of all, she did never have the ghost
after her anymore.
Even though, I would very much like to spend one night –of course not alone
but with someone else with me- there in that haunted house preferably in one of
the upstairs rooms so that I can see what a real ghost is like. (Contact
info: dr.gafar@homeoweb.com, for more
such interesting cases/stories go to
www.homeoweb.com/cases.htm) Dr.
Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann; Reminiscence “Dearest
Friend, For eighteen years I have departed from the beaten track
in medicine. It was painful to me to grope in the dark, guided only by our books
in the treatment of the sick, to prescribe, according to this or that (fanciful)
view to the nature of diseases, substances that only owed to mere opinion their
place on the materia medica; I had conscientious scruples about treating unknown
morbid states in my suffering fellow creatures with these unknown medicines,
which being powerful substances, may, if they were not exactly suitable or not,
seeing that their peculiar, special actions were not yet elucidated easily,
change life into death, or produce new affections and chronic ailments, which
are often much more difficult to remove than the original disease.
To become in this way a murderer, or aggravator of the sufferings of my
brethren of mankind, was to me a tearful thoughts, so fearful and distressing
was it that shortly after my marriage I completely abandoned practice and
scarcely treated any one for fear of doing him harm, and as you know - occupied
myself solely with chemistry and literary labours. But
children were born to me, several children, and in course of time serious
disease occurred, which, because they afflicted and endangered the lives of my
children, my flesh and blood, caused my conscience to reproach still more
loudly, that I had no means on which I could rely for affording them relief. But
whence could I obtain aid, certain positive aid, with our doctrine to the powers
of medicinal substances founded merely on vague observations, often only on
fanciful conjecture, and with the infinite number of arbitrary views respecting
disease in which our pathological works abound? A labyrinth in which he only can
preserve his tranquility who accepts as gospel those assertions relative to the
curative powers of medicines because they are repeated in a hundred books, and
who receives, without investigation, as oracles, the arbitrary definitions of
diseases given in pathological works, and their pretended treatment according to
hypothetical notions described in our therapeutic works, who ascribes all the
cases to death that occurs under his treatment, not to his own practice to
shooting blindfold at the mark, who does not attribute the aggravation and
prolongation of the acute diseases
he treats and their degeneration into chronic maladies, and the general
fruitlessness of his efforts when he has to treat diseases of longstanding, to
the uncertainly and impotence to his art. No! He ascribes death and ill-treated
disease and all, solely to the incurableness to the disease, to the disobedience
to the parent, and to other insignificant circumstances, and so accommodating
and obtuse is his conscience, that he satisfies himself with these excuses,
though they are in many ways delusive, and can never avail before an omniscient
god; and thus he goes on treating diseases (which he sees through his systematic
spectacles) with medicinal substances that are fast from being without influence
on life and death, but to whose powers nothing's known.” In
this "extracts from a letter to a physician to high standing on the great
necessity of a regeneration of Medicine" from Dr.C.F.Samuel Hahnemann, we
can visualise this inner repercussions, which compelled him to differ.
But pause for a moment, and shake your self out of the cocoon cultivated
around all of us for so long. This criticism is not significant for other
systems of medicine alone. It may
be a startling truth, but when we introspect into the system of Homoeopathy, his
standards of differences may appear true to us as well. It
is easier to bark at the shadow of other systems without knowing the reason for
it. The great man, but only growled at it, with ample reason too. The
repercussions of that grunting is not dead yet. Actually we still reap from
those old seeds. He also had ample justifications to his disgust. For he
produced an entire system, gentle and at the same time very much effective as
compensation. Now what have we done with it? It is a question bigger than all of
us think. Dr.
Hahnemann, who remained a fugitive throughout his life from the "Francoscianeum"
in Meissen to the solace in Paris, devoted his entire life and experimentation
to the field of Medicine. Had he
changed his track somewhere, as the renowned chemist Berzelins remarked,
"That man would have made a great chemist, had he not turned out a great
quack." As for him, the high and only call to a physician was to restore
the sick to health, and in this search for the art of curing, he not only went
through the logical ways of hygiene and the psychosomatic approach towards
diseases, ill understood and unexpected during his days, but also through the
frustration of the modern student, dragged himself though for a shorter distance
when compared to his followers like Dr. J.T. Kent, along the darker and
confusing lines of often illogical metaphysics. This
is an era, where the basic conclusions in medicine are constantly challenged by
the developments in the field of genetic engineering.
This is an era where the good old concepts on health are quite
pathetically viewed thanks to the ever increasing pollution, ever growing
population and ever glooming poverty. The
concept of a permanent cure may forever remain a dream.
Genetics can work out the very basics of living cells but even that will
fail to reveal the mystery of the phenomenon of life.
We may be compelled to dilute the accepted definition on health again and
again, but some of the principles highlighted by the likes of Dr. Hahnemann,
Paracelsus, and Boyle etc. will always retain their significance throughout the
history of medicine. Dr.
Samuel Hahnemann, outside the homoeopathic fraternity, is still considered as an
under achiever. Naturally there
would have to be some reason for that as well.
Perhaps, the fault lies with us, his followers. For we idolized him, we
dogmatized the principles and methods of treatment vindicated by him, we failed
to understand what is to be understood and we failed to do what is to be done
for him. We even failed to follow him in essence! For
him, life was a struggle right from the beginning. By taking a retrospective on
his achievements, we can only wonder at the clarity of vision he held about his
surroundings. This is true not only
for the field of medicine but also about the socio-political arena. In his
‘Organon’, what he had predicted about a western conquering of Germany and
Germany's final resurrection came true, nearly about a hundred years later (of
course after Adolph Hitler had unified Germany which even Bismark was unable to
do and filled the German minds with pride and patriotism). The amount of
dedication and work he applied in the pursuit of truth is astonishing. Indeed,
many of the principles highlighted by him existed even before his time and many
of the physicians like Paracelsus and many of the scientists like Boyle have
strongly appreciated those principles. It is arguable how much he had achieved.
But the important thing is that he was able to effect a change in the attitude
of the physicians towards diseases and he was able, upto an extend to induce
simplicity in the practice of medicine. Like
Hippocratus, he also stood strongly for the regimen, which is emphasized not in
one place in his Organon. Astonishingly this correction of habits and diet is
still often wanting in the practice of medicine, even in this modern era of
high-tech medicine. Otherwise we could have quite successfully defended
epidemics like the ‘cola and the fast-food culture’ and the
invasion of 'the synthetics'. What is more interesting is that some
critics even using to say that Homoeopathy works only because it relies
on the hygiene and regime! You take away that only, and YES Homoeopathy
works because it relies on the hygiene and regime! He
was one of the early pioneers who went after the interactions between the body
and mind and the other processes attached with it in the evolution of illness.
Later, Sigmund Freud used the same method but in a different manner.
Both had their obsessions, reasoning and defaults. Freud adamantly
refused to develop beyond the concepts of sexuality and aggression. Samuel
Hahnemann, who fought against theories and speculations, himself had to fall
back to hypotheses and often speculations in his description of the origin and
nature of the chronic diseases. But
please, his writings are to be visualized as an evolution and then there'll be
contradictions and under statements but there are always some sparkling
somewhere. Though
his descriptive method seems disgusting in today’s faster world, he'll be
remembered in the future for his denial of the errors in judgment and management
of the illnesses prevailed during his time, his highlighting of the
psychosomatic approach and his theories on individualisation.
The reason for which he is ignored nowadays may be the too much
highlighted vitalism and such other metaphysical hypotheses, instead of his
lesser known works on the interaction between the processes of body and mind,
related to the evolution of diseases. That also is mainly because the present
day science with its self-applied constraints cannot digest most of this high
voltage philosophy. Unfortunately
there was some mistake from the part of Hahnemann too. What confuse his
followers are the striking contrasts in his literature. At times his talent
successfully parades through the logical conclusions on the multi factorial
approach towards the causation and progression to diseases but at times he just
over generalises the concept, quite unsuccessfully into syphilis, gonorrhoea,
itch, scabies and all such superficial, often wrong and highly speculative
narratives. These and the like are
the areas mentioned earlier when said we cannot do him justice by idolizing him
to a legend, by worshipping the icons or chanting the aphorisms.
We can do him justice only by evaluating his life and works and putting
our self into the down streams of evolution. Then only do this system bloom into
a full fledged healing art. In that
process, we may have to blast off the icons, we'll have to introspect deeper and
deeper, and have to rediscover the essence of the therapeutic system described
by the great Master. In short we have to scrutinise the system in the context of
the advancements in different fields of science including medicine. Taking
the Homoeopathic establishment at large, the roles of the present day
Governments and the Homoeopathic medical colleges are practically a minimum in
the development of this system. We can only repent on our idleness when we look
at the way by which the academic curriculum in the homoeopathic medical colleges
is allowed to drag behind the fast developing fraternities.
In this century of instant communication, while information can be
conveyed from one part of our globe to another distant one within a split
second, we can understand the frustration an average student feel when he was
compelled to go back to the 18th or 19th century.
But even that can be presented in attractive colours if it is put
forwarded in its essence, emphasizing the real importance of the thing and more
over in a realistic manner. And
about the different research organizations, the less said the better! The master
was not only a scholar but a meticulous researcher too. Had he not there would
not have so many Homoeopathic provings, the beautiful merging of science and the
philosophy. If science is systematised knowledge, then homoeopathy still has a
long way to go, as we have to continue with the systematisation of the
principles and methods forwarded by Hahnemann. Like any other system of
medicine, it is high time for Homoeopathy to justify its existence. It is no use
to blame the immaturity of the scientific world and waiting endlessly for them
to grow up so that every body can understand Homoeopathy with ease. For so many
of us the thought of putting some research into the system is not even there in
the far away dreams. This positively means the system is well as dead! It
is said that a politician thinks to the next election but statesman, of the next
generations. In that aspect,
Hahnemann was really a statesman in the world of medicine. He was not for
opportunism, his broad outlook always believed in the capabilities of human mind
and body. Perhaps the number one reason why he was an outcast was his
understanding as well as adherence to the intimacy of the material body and the
ever indwelling mind. Even to such an extend that he foresaw the connection
between our sins, past and present with our sufferings. Which was very good when
spoken by a priest but alas the last good thing to come out from a physician.
In
this era where the art of medical practice is degenerating into the art of
skillful cheating, we are always ready either to praise Hahnemann or to burry
him. But the true need of the hour is to understand and learn him; and to
condense the vast data that is Homoeopathy into a logical comprehensive form.
The mysteries clouded around Homoeopathy should be cleared through
extensive researches in biophysics. Researches and workshops are to be conducted
at the organizational level (where we can expect more honesty and more
dedication when compared to the present day establishments). The oedematous
physique of our literature is to be corrected and trimmed and then, only then,
can we claim that we are the flag bearers of a divine healing art, then only we
can claim that we're followers of science, then only we can claim that we are
the followers of Dr. Hahnemann. Epilogue: Aesculus Hippocastanum: A Pharmacological Approach.By.Dr.K.S.Gopi
BHMS. Aesculus hippocastanum L. (Family: Hippocastanaceae) horse chestnut which is also known as Hippocastanum Vulgare Gaertn, is a plant today widely distributed all over the world, and is known for its beauty and resistance to environmental conditions. It is a native of western parts of Asia, from where it was introduced in Iran, Northern India, Asia Minor, South-East Europe from the Balkans to the Caucasus and USA. The tree is chiefly grown for ornamental purposes, so it is widely cultivated in parks and gardens, and along city streets. Aesculus, the Latin name for an oak with edible acorns, was attributed to this tree by Linneo in 1737. Etymologically, aesculus (or esculus) perhaps derives from the name of a species of Oak which was sacred to Jove, namely Ischio (Quercus esculus L.). According to others “esculus” derives from the latin, “esca” in the sense of nutrient, because its acorns are edible. Applied to the horse chestnut the name is inappropriate because the seeds are not edible, but it might have been given because of the similarity of the tree with the oak (Quercus sp.) Hippocastanum derives from the Greek “ippos”, means horse and “castanon”, means chestnut, that is to say “horse chestnut”. This name was used because the seeds were thought to be good for broken-winded horses or for the similarity of the seeds with the horse’s eyes. A. hippopcastanum was described for the first time in 1565 by Mathiole, who received a branch and some fruits sent by the Flemish doctor Guillaume Quackelbeen. Only in 1615 the horse chestnut became known in France when it was brought by Bachelier from Constantinople to Paris. By 1691 it was known as far as Stratsbourg. During the 18th century, it spread so quickly over the greatest part of Europe to allow Murray in 1796 to get a patent to extract starch from horse chestnuts. At first this tree was thought to come from Constantinople and Creta, later on from India. In 1806 Hawkins stated that it could be found both in the Pindo and in the Pelio. But his observations were not taken seriously till Tzhihatscheff declared that the horse chestnut had spontaneously grown in Greece and at last Helreich (1879) studied that it is a typical tree in the Balkanian woods, in the Caucare, in the northern part of Persia and in the Himalaya. From 1720 Bon proposed the bark of horse chestnut as a febrifuge substituting quinine. In the 18th century several practitioners acknowledged this property and claimed, successful results. Later on this property was wholly put aside and only upon the continental block it was recovered in the medical practice for some years (1808-1809). In 1896 Artault de Vevey reported the antihemorrohidal properties of horse chestnuts. It was proved and introduced in Homoeopathic practice by Helbig. A. hippocastanum is a tree up to 30m in height and 2 m in circumference with many braches, and a smooth, white bark. The leaves are opposite, up to 20 cm length and 10 c.m. width, composed of 5-7 large sessile leaflets and with 15-20 c.m. long petioles. The blades are obovate or oblong, cuneately tapering at the base, dilated and rounded above, abruptly mucronate, glabrous above, softly-hairy beneath along the nerves, irregularly serrate at the margins, median leaflet largest, the outer much smaller. The flowers appear in June on terminal erect dense panicles, usually up to 20-30 cm long, the lower branches shorter than the middle ones, often polygamous, the greater portion with imperfect flowers. Pedicels jointed, the rachis and pedicels are rufoushairy. The calyx is cylindrical campanulate and pubesecent. The flower has five petals with orbicular limb, fimbriate at margin, while, with yellow spot at the base, later turning pink. The stamens are declined and hairy at the base, the ovary is covered with soft hairs and prickles. The capsules are spiny, usually with one large seed. The seeds are used in the preparation of the mother tinctures. The fruit of the horse chestnut is a somewhat prickly small globular capsule which becomes leathery as it matures, and opens into one or three valves, containing 2 to 4 large seeds. The seeds are round and smooth with large, light base areas. The seeds in transverse section shows an outer most thick yellowish layer of cuticle; a single layer of thick walled palisade like epidermal cells, followed by a wide zone of sclereids and thick walled highly sinuous yellowish or yellowish brown lignified cells with finger like projections on their walls, a zone of 5 to 6 layers of tangentially elongated, polygonal thin walled yellowish brown parenchyma cells, 2 to 3 layers of polygonal thick walled tangentially elongated disorganised cells over the large endosperm, which consists of large, oval, oblong parenchyma cells, each of which containing several crystal-bearing chambers. Chemical
Constituents
Escin(mp.2240); quercetin-3-xylosidoglucoside (mp.1980); Kaempferol-3-diglycoside (mp.2030); quercetin-3-glucosidorhamnoside (mp.2060); Kaempferol-3xylosidogulucoside (mp.1890); Kaempferol-3-glucosidorhamnoside (mp.1860), quercetin-3-gulucoside(mp 1770), quercetin-3-diglucoside (mp.2050); quercetin 3,4-diglucoside; kaempferol-3-aL-arabinofuranoside (mp.228) Kaempferol-a-L-rhamnofuranoside (mp.1730); avicularin, quercetin-3-aL-rhamnofuranoside (mp.1770); castaprenol-11, castaprenol 12, castaprenol 13, Enzymatic hydrolysis of pure saponin yielded a mixture of genins whose main constituent is protoaescigenin-21-tiglate-22-acetate. Escin is found to be a mixture of a- and b-escins which on hydrolysis gave glucuronic acid, glucose and protoasescigenin-22-acetate acylated by either angelic or tiglic acid at C-21, Tiglic acid was actually found in escin. It was found that -escin was a mixture of more than 30 different components derived from two aglycones, protoescigenin and barringtogenol C in an 8:2 ratio.
R= Glu.Acid (2à1) Glu (4à1) Glu. R1=Tigloyl/Angeloyl Seed also contains O.b.D. fructofurano-syl-(2à6)-b-D-Fructofuranosyl a D-glucopyranoside (mp.1430). Anthocyanins, (-)-epicatechin, its dimer proanthocya-nidin A2 and tannins have been reported to be present in the integument of the seeds and in the bark of the tree. Other constituents are: the coumarins esculin, fraxin and their aglycones, esculetin and fraxetin have been found in the bark, buds and pericarp of the fruit, but not in the seed of horse chestnut. Purines, including adenine, adenosine, guanine anduric acid, have been isolated from seeds and their presence has also been reported in the flowers and leaves. L-(+)-Iysine and L-(-)-tryptophan (9.44% and 2.7%, respectively) have been found in hippocastaine, the globulin extracted from the cotyledons. Group B vitamins were assayed microbiologically in fresh seeds without integument by Haenel. Vit.C has been found in seeds and fresh leaves. A provitamin D has been obtained (0.76%) from a phytosterolic fraction (0.012% of the dried drug). Vitamin K1 (800 Dam units in 1g. of dried drug) has been found in the leaves. Vitamin Assay(Mg/g) Vitamin Assay(Mg/g) Vitamin B6 4.2 Folic acid 0.23 Inositol 2000 Vitamin B12 0.0007 Choline 1080 Nicotinic acid 106 Anexurine 1.2 Riboflavin 1.42 Biotin 0.25 P-Aminobenzoic acid 0.2 Pantothenic acid 9.3 Methionin 1400 Table-1.Group B Vitamins in A.hippocartanum fresh seeds Synthesis of 3,5,3'-trihydroxy-7,4',5'-trimethoxyflavone, isolated from oil secreted by buds. A tannic compound acetylcretanin-along with isoquercitrin, hyperin, astragalin, trifolin and nicotiflorin isolated from galls. Protoescigenin Barring togenol C (-) Epicatechin Proanthocyanidin A2 Esculin Fraxin The fatty oil (3-4.8% in seeds without integument) has also shown to contain 94.2% of fatty acids and 1.3% of a non-saponifiable fraction; fatty acids are composed of oleic (67.2%), linoleic (22.7%), linolenic (2.2%), stearic (3.6%) and palmitic (4.4%) acid. The non-saponifiable fraction has been shown to contain triacontane, a spinasterol and the triterpenic derivatives friedelin, butyrospermol and taraxerol. Pharmacology Aesculus shows antiphlogistic and anesthetic properties. More studies shows that it has marked action on the vasotissular barrier due to vasoprotective, antiexudative and anti-edemigenous actions. It has shown that certain coumarines, such as esculoside and esculetol, alike some flavone derivatives, rutoside, xanthorhammoside, quercetoside, luteolol, quercetol, rhamnetol etc. are capable of increasing capillary resistance. The anti-edemigenous, anti-exudative and vasoprotective actions are exclusively due to the triterpenic saponin escin. In subtoxic doses escin accelerated respiration, acted as hypotensive and cardiac stimulant. The saponin fraction was found to be less toxic. It inhibited prostaglandin synthetase in vitro. Saponin produced initial hypotension followed by long-lasting hypertension. The anti-exudative action in cases of chronic venous insufficiency was demonstrated to be mainly dependent on the inhibition of proteoglycan-degradation and lysosomal enzyme activity. Besides exerting an antiexudative effect, it also increases venous tone. Clinically aesculus is widely used in the treatment of venous stasis, in the conservative treatment of varicosis and in venous insufficiency. Esculin has been found to possess on interesting activity on the skin microcirulation. Irregularities in the distribution of the microcirculatory blood flow are considered as the pathogenetic causes of some vascular, functional and organic acrosyndromes (acrocyanosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon) as well as of chronic venous stasis, including insufficiency of the lower limbs and its complications. Constituents Contents (%) Seeds Peeled fresh seeds Peeled dried seeds Water 10-12 40 1.8-3.5 Starch 37-38 42 22-47 Cellulose 2.8-3 --- --- Sugars --- 9 7.3-17.5 (saccharose) 1.6-9.1 (glucose) Fatty oil 7.4-8.1 2.5 5.0-7.2 Protein 7.9-10.0 5 7.25-10.80 Ash 2.9 1.5 2.45-2.90 Table.2 Other constituent of A. hippocastanum seeds. In cosmetics, esculin improved skin trophism and was effective in the treatment of fibrosclerotic panniculopathy and in cellulitis. Topically applied esculin increases the capillary density (number of capillaries open to flow per surface unit) and the morphological aspects of the smaller blood vessels. Peripheral blood circulation deficiency seems to be the main cause of several unattractivenesses of aging skin. Also baldness, androgenic and symptomatic aloepecia seem to be strongly influenced by a reduced blood flow in the galea capitis. Esculin, in association with ximenynic acid and lauric acid, significantly reduced the hair loss in androgenic and symptomatic alopecia. Aesculus hippocastanum was proved and introduced in Homoeopathic practice by Helbig in 1844. It is suitable for persons with haemorrhoidal tendencies and who suffer from gastric disorders. Severe backache affecting sacrum and hips. The complaints are worse by motion, walking, stooping and from moving bowels. Better from cool open air. It is antidoted by Nux Vomica. Reference 1. Deni Bown, Encyclopedia of herbs and their uses, Dorling Kindersley, London. 2. Ram P. Rastogi, B.N. Mehrotra, Compendium of Indian Medicinal Plants Vol.1-2, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow. 3. Fitoterapia, Vol.LXVII, No.6, 1996. 4. Annonymous, Homoeopathic pharmacopoeia of India. Vol.1. 5. W. Boericke, Pocket Mannual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory, B. Jain Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd. New Delhi. 6. A. Jayasuriya, A Complete Course on Clinical Homoeopathy, B. Jain Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd. New Delhi. 7. Mrs.M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, Tiger Books International, London. |
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