Mental disposition of Podophyllum peltatum through repertory

Dr Fahmeedah BK

ABSTRACT
Podophyllum Peltatum is mainly known for its use in Gastro-intestinal and Hepatic affections and the ailments of mind is hardly known. Dr JT Kent in his Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica begins this remedy as “This remedy is seldom used except in acute affections, but it is a long acting and deep acting drug; it produces a powerful impression on the economy; it relates to the deep-seated miasms.”. Around 348 mind symptoms have been extracted from Schroyens Synthesis repertory-9.0 which gives us the mental picture of Podophyllum in detail. This drug has wide variety of mental symptoms affecting the emotions, intellect and memory but has been least explored and seldom known. Its affections is mainly at the emotional level. This remedy also consists of many Polar symptoms and Contrasting rubrics. Podophyllum not only has extensive action on the Gastro-intestinal and Hepatic system but also on the mind thus can aid us in selecting a correct constitutional similimum.

KEYWORDS: Podophyllum Peltatum, Mental disposition.

INTRODUCTION:
Podophyllum Peltatum, Commonly known as May apple belongs to the family Berberidaceae .It is prepared from tincture of root gathered after the fruit has ripened or from the whole fresh plant or  ripe fruit.

This remedy is clinically used in various gastro intestinal and hepatic affections. In our Materia Medica under the section mind very few mental  symptoms of this remedy has been described.Dr.H C.Allen has dedicated  one  line of his materia medica to explain the mind symptom of podophyllum , Dr Boericke has described the mind symptoms in two lines ,Dr J H.Clarke and DrC. Hering have described it in five lines ,Dr S R Phatak has described in four lines and  DR JT Kent in his Lectures on Homoeoepathic Materia Medica talks about the importance of using Podophyllum as a constitutional remedy yet he has dedicated only one paragraph for explaining the mental ailments of Podophyllum.

The mind symptoms that has been described in the Materia Medica are as follows:

• Delirium, loquacious during heat; forgetful after of what has passed.
• Depression: imagines he is going to die or be very ill; in gastric affections.
• Disgust for life; headache; biliary disorders.
• Over-fatigue of mind from business
• Conscious during chill, but cannot talk, forgets words.

This remedy is hardly used in the constitutional prescriptions due to the lack of knowledge about its mental disposition. Around 348 mind symptoms have been extracted from Schroyens Synthesis repertory-9.0 which gives us the mental picture of Podophyllum in detail. It is very essential to study the mental disposition of such remedies so that we do not miss a podophyllum case or to avoid wrong prescriptions.

Explanation of mental disposition of Podophyllum Peltataum through repertory.

• MIND – AFFECTIONATE
• MIND – AFFECTIONATE – returns affection
• MIND – ABRUPT – affectionate; rough yet
• MIND – AFFABILITY
• MIND – ANIMALS – love for animals – cats
• MIND – ANIMALS – love for animals – pet; her
• MIND – CARESSED; being – wants to be caressed
• MIND – CARRIED – desire to be carried – shoulder; over the
• MIND – CHILDREN – beget and to have children; desire to
• MIND – LOVE – exalted love
• MIND – MAGNETIZED – desire to be
• MIND – MAGNETIZING others – desire for
• MIND – SYMPATHETIC
• MIND – SYMPATHETIC – animals; towards
• MIND– SELFLESSNESS
• MIND – FORSAKEN feeling
• MIND – FEAR – evil; fear of – family; impending on his
• MIND – ANXIETY – family; about his
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – death of loved ones

These rubrics indicate that Podophyllum in its Psoric stage is an affectionate remedy, they crave for love, affection, care, magnetism and return affection as well. They are very friendly with good manners. They desire to have children and are very affectionate and sympathetic towards animals; pets – cats. Another important feature is that though they are affectionate, they can be rough. They worry a lot and are anxious about their loved ones and fear about their health. A forsaken state of mind comes up if they lose their loved one.

• MIND – COMPANY – desire for
• MIND – COMPANY – desire for – alone agg.; when
• MIND – CHEERFUL
• MIND – LOQUACITY – changing quickly from one subject to another
• MIND – LOQUACITY – cheerful, exuberant
• MIND – LOQUACITY – hilarity; with
• MIND – LOQUACITY – vivacious
• MIND – LOQUACITY – chill, during
• MIND – LOQUACITY – fever; during

From the above rubrics we learn that they are vivacious, full of life, hilarious, cheerful and people who desire  company and  cannot be alone. They are highly loquacious and they quickly change the subject of speech from one to another (lach). This loquacity also becomes prominent in acute states, especially during fever where they go into delirious state of loquacity.

• MIND – COMPANY – aversion to
• MIND – COMPANY – aversion to – alone amel.; when
• MIND – COMPANY – aversion to – desire for solitude
• MIND – COMPANY – aversion to – weep – with weeping
• MIND – SPOKEN TO; being – aversion – alone; wants to be let
• MIND – AVERSION – friends, to

As the pathology progresses to the Sycotic stage, they have aversion to company and desire solitude. They have an aversion to being spoken to and want to be left alone.

• MIND – TRANQUILLITY
• MIND – MILDNESS
• MIND – YIELDING disposition
• MIND – QUIET disposition
• MIND – QUIET; wants to be

These rubrics tell us that they can also belong to calm , mild , yielding and quiet disposition.

• MIND – ANXIETY – business; about
• MI\ND – PROSTRATION of mind – business, from
• MIND – SADNESS – money – problems with money; about
• MIND – ANXIETY – future, about
• MIND – THOUGHTS – profound – future, about his
• MIND – CARES, full of – business, about his
• MIND – CARES, full of – future; about

They are money minded people , with anxiety and worry about money and future, deep thoughts about future , mind is exhausted from business(Nux-V) and sadness due to problems with money( Mez ,Psor).

• MIND – CONTENT
• MIND – CONTENT – quiet; and
• MIND – DESIRES – nothing; desires
• MIND – WELL – says he is well – sick; when very
• MIND – DISCONTENTED – himself, with
• MIND – DISCONTENTED – others; with
• MIND – DISCONTENTED – surroundings, with

This remedy is highly satisfied, wants nothing, asks for nothing and when sick says he is well. (Opium, Arn, Puls)

In the sycotic stage they can present as highly discontented; with themselves, others, and surroundings.

• MIND – HAUGHTY
• MIND – OFFENDED, easily
• MIND – OPINIONS – respected; expects her opinions to be
• MIND – SUGGESTIONS; will not accept
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – honor; wounded
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – mortification
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – punishment
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – reprimands_tk1
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – scorned; being
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – shame
• MIND – CENSORIOUS
• MIND – CONTRARY
• MIND- HUMILITY.

These rubrics suggest that Podophyllum is a remedy with high self-esteem, pride and want their opinions to be respected (Ham).They also potray the fault finding and opposing character. This can be due to haughtiness or due to their discontented nature. From the last rubric (HUMILITY) in the above set of rubrics we also learn that podophyllum can be someone with lack of pride.

• MIND – FEAR – disease, of impending
• MIND – FEAR – disease, of impending – incurable, of being
• MIND – FEAR – heart – disease of the heart
• MIND – FEAR – liver, in affections of
• MIND – FEAR – lung disease; of
• MIND – FEAR – death, of
• MIND – DELUSIONS – sick – being
• MIND – DELUSIONS – sick – going to be sick; he is
• MIND – DELUSIONS – disease – incurable disease; he has an
• MIND – DELUSIONS – heart – disease – going to have a heart disease and die; is
• MIND – DELUSIONS – heart – disease – having an
• MIND – DELUSIONS – liver disease; that he will have
• MIND – DELUSIONS – die – about to die; one was
• MIND – DEATH – presentiment of

Here we study that this remedy is highly health conscious and has many fears and fixed ideas regarding illness. They believe that they have an incurable disease, they are having diseases of the heart and liver and they are about to die. They will have an intuitive feeling that they will die in the future.

• MIND – DELUSIONS – well, he is
• MIND – HOPEFUL
• MIND – OPTIMISTIC
• MIND-POSITIVENESS

Though in the previous set of rubrics we saw that Podophyllum can be a weak willed constitution, yet there are few other rubrics above suggesting that they can also be strong willed constitution.

• MIND – DELUSIONS – sinned; one has – day of grace; sinned away his
• MIND – DESPAIR – religious despair of salvation
• MIND – ANXIETY – salvation, about

From the above rubrics it is understood that they are religious, pious, godly, who has fear of afterlife.

• MIND – INDIGNATION – misdeeds of others; at the
• MIND – INJUSTICE, cannot support
• MIND – HARMONY – desire for
• MIND – VENERATION
• MIND – REVERENCE for those around him
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – quarrelling

Podophyllum also has very good morals. They are people with high self-esteem they want their opinions to be respected (Ham) and in return they respect others and behave very well. They have strong sense of right and wrong, highly conscientious hence cannot tolerate any kind of injustice and desires peace.

• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – emotions
• MIND – SENSITIVE – reprimands, to
• MIND – SENTIMENTAL
• MIND – WEEPING – disappointments, about
• MIND – WEEPING – sympathy with others, from
• MIND – WEEPING – whimpering
• MIND – PITIES herself
• MIND – MOROSE

They are highly sensitive, emotional, nostalgic, and they are disposed to weep .As stated in the beginning they are affectionate and sympathetic which makes them weep for others. When they are scolded, they can weep or become sulky.

• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – anger
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – anger – suppressed
• MIND – BITING
• MIND- SHRIEKING
• MIND – STRIKING

As they have strong sense of right and wrong they are very much prone to anger. The anger is supressed as Podophyllum is someone with high self-esteem, desires harmony and sensitive to quarrels. Any kind of disharmony affects them. The anger may be expressed in the form of biting, shrieking, and striking.

• MIND – FASTIDIOUS
• MIND – CONSCIENTIOUS about trifles
• MIND – CAREFULLNESS
• MIND – HEEDLESS
• MIND – NEGLECTING – important things
• MIND – HURRY – writing, in
• MIND – IMPATIENCE – working; when
• MIND – SLOWNESS
• MIND – SLOWNESS – motion, in
• MIND – SLOWNESS – work, in
• MIND – LAZINESS
• MIND – LAZINESS – afternoon
• MIND – LAZINESS – postponing the work
• MIND – BED – remain in bed; desire to
• MIND – BED – remain in bed; desire to – morning
• MIND – DUTY – aversion to
• MIND – DUTY – no sense of duty

In the above rubrics we see that there is polarity of the symptoms pertaining to activity and work. They can either be impatient, hurried and very particular about small details, very careful or they are very slow, lazy, indolent, postponing the work, careless and have no sense of duty.

• MIND – COLORS – black – aversion to
• MIND – COLORS – blue – aversion to
• MIND – COLORS – yellow – desire for
• MIND – COLORS – yellow – desire for – wear it; to

They desire yellow colour (choc) and have aversion to black and blue colours (choc, tarent)

• MIND – INDIFFERENCE
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – adverse circumstances; to
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – business affairs, to
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – complain; does not
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – desire, nor action of the will; has no
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – duties; to
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – everything, to
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – family, to his
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – husband; towards
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – joy of others; to
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – joyless
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – others, toward
• MIND – INDIFFERENCE – reprimands, to all

This remedy which is highly affectionate, craves for love. They are also money minded.  In syphilitic stage, there is  disinterest towards everything, towards family, friends, duty, business, and towards joy. They will not care for anything and they become insensitive.

Further we see many rubrics pertaining to perversion of the intellect.

• MIND – CLAIRVOYANCE
• MIND – PROPHESYING
• MIND – AWARENESS heightened
• MIND – ACTIVITY – creative activity
• MIND – CONCENTRATION – difficult
• MIND – CONCENTRATION – difficult – conversation, during
• MIND – CONCENTRATION – difficult – talking, while
• MIND – CONFOUNDING – objects and ideas
• MIND – CONFUSION of mind
• MIND – CONFUSION of mind – morning
• MIND – CONFUSION of mind – daily affairs; about
• MIND – CONFUSION of mind – mental exertion – from
• MIND – CONFUSION of mind – reading, while
• MIND – CONFUSION of mind – thinking of it – agg.
• MIND – DISCRIMINATION, lack of
• MIND – DISTANCES – inaccurate judgement of
• MIND – STUDYING – difficult
• MIND – MISTAKES; making – calculating, in
• MIND – MISTAKES; making – reading, in
• MIND – MISTAKES; making – time, in
• MIND – MISTAKES; making – writing, in – adding letters
• MIND – MISTAKES; making – writing, in – omitting – letters
• MIND – MISTAKES; making – writing, in – transposing – letters
• MIND – WRITING – inability for
• MIND – WRITING – indistinctly, writes
• MIND – SECRETIVE
• MIND – TRUTH – telling the plain truth

This remedy has disturbances in the intellectual faculty. They do not belong to intellectual group of remedies. They present mainly with lot of confusions and low concentration ability. It is worse mainly during a conversation, when thinking, reading. This remedy is also useful in learning difficulty where they make mistakes in reading, writing, calculating. They transpose and omit letters.

Any kind of mental exertion aggravates these symptoms. They confuse between similar objects or ideas. They also have difficulty in judging distances (cann).

They are creative as well. This remedy has the ability to foresee and foretell the future. They may or may not be secretive.

This remedy also has perversions of memory. Below given are the list of rubrics showing the affections of memory.

• MIND – FORGETFUL – words while speaking; of
• MIND – FORGOTTEN – something; feels constantly as if he had forgotten
• MIND – MEMORY – confused
• MIND – MEMORY – loss of memory
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – dates, for
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – do; for what was about to
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – do; for what was about to
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – happened, for what has
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – heard; for what he has
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – persons, for
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – said; for what he has
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – said; for what he has – just said
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – say; for what he is about to
• MIND – MEMORY – weakness of memory – words; for

Weakness of memory mainly for words when speaking, for what he has just said or for what he was about to say, for something he was about to do, also for persons and dates.

Here is a list of the different mental causative factors that can affect a Podophyllum individual.

• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – anger
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – anger – suppressed
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – death of loved ones
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – disappointment
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – domination – children; in
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – emotions
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – honor; wounded
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – mortification
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – punishment
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – quarrelling
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – reprimands_tk1
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – scorned; being
• MIND – AILMENTS FROM – shame

Polar symptoms /contrast rubrics in Podophyllum:

As we have gone through the mind symptoms of Podophyllum in the Repertory, we also understand that this remedy consist of many polar symptoms /contrasting rubrics i.e. the manifestation of two opposite symptoms in the same remedy. Below given are the list of some of the contrasting rubrics in this remedy.

POLAR SYMPTOMS /CONTRASTING RUBRICS
AFFECTIONATE	INDIFFERENCE
CHEERFUL	MOROSE
HOPEFUL	DESPAIR
COMPANY DESIRE FOR	COMPANY AVERSION TO
CONTENT	DISCONTENTED.
WELL-says he is well-sick, when very	DELUSION – sick-being
HAUGHTY	HUMILITY
CAREFULLNESS	HEEDLESS
LOQUACIOUS	QUIET DISPOOSITION
HURRY	SLOWNESS
SENSITIVE – reprimands to	INDIFFERENCE –reprimands to all

From the above examples, we understand that this remedy has symptoms pertaining to all the three miasms.

CONCLUSION:
Podophyllum is a remedy which has wide variety of mental symptoms affecting the emotions, intellect and memory but has been least explored and seldom known. As we study through the repertory we learn that its affections is mainly at the emotional level. They are basically constitutions whose need is both love and respect.

We also observed that this remedy consists of many polar symptoms and contrasting rubrics which helps us to learn the evolution of the drug from Psora to Sycosis and then Syphilis. Hence we conclude that Podophyllum not only has extensive action on the Gastro-intestinal and Hepatic system but also on the mind thus can aid us in selecting a correct constitutional similimum.

REFERENCES:
Radar Software : Frederik Schroyens Synthesis Repertory ,Version 9.1

Dr Fahmeedah BK
PG Scholar, Department of Materia Medica,
Government Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Bengaluru.