Homeopathic Preparations Assessed by UV-Spectroscopy

Homeopathic  Preparations  of  Quartz,  Sulfur  and  Copper  Sulfate Assessed  by  UV-Spectroscopy

Ursula  Wolf  ,  Martin  Wolf  ,  Peter  Heusser  ,  Andre Thurneysen    and Stephan  Baumgartner1,2,3

Institute of Complementary Medicine KIKOM, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland, 2National High Magnetic

Field  Laboratory  (NHMFL),  Florida  State  University,  Tallahassee,  FL  32310,  USA  and 3 Institute  Hiscia,  4144Arlesheim,  Switzerland

Homeopathic  preparations  are  used  in  homeopathy  and  anthroposophic  medicine.  Although   there is evidence of effectiveness in several clinical studies, including double-blinded randomized controlled trials, their nature and mode of action could not be explained with current scientific approaches yet. Several physical methods have already been applied to investigate homeopathic                             preparations     but   it is yet  unclear    which   methods     are  best   suited  to  identify   characteristic   physicochemical  properties  of  homeopathic  preparations.  The  aim  of  this  study  was  to  investigate  homeopathic  preparations  with  UV-spectroscopy.  In  a  blinded,  randomized,  controlled   experiment     homeopathic      preparations     of  copper    sulfate   (CuSO  ;    11c–30c),    quartz    (SiO  ;10c–30c,   i.e. centesimal    dilution   steps)  and   sulfur   (S; 11–30 ,       i.e. decimal dilution   steps) and  controls  (one-time  succussed  diluent)  were  investigated  using  UV-spectroscopy  and  tested   for contamination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

The UV trans mission  for  homeopathic  preparations  of  CuSO4 preparations  was  significantly  lower  than  in   controls.  The  transmission  seemed  to  be  also  lower  for  both  SiO2    and  S,  but  not  significant.

The  mean  effect  size  (95%  confidence  interval)  was  similar  for  the  homeopathic  preparations:  CuSO4  (pooled data) 0.0544% (0.0260–0.0827%), SiO2  0.0323% (–0.0064% to 0.0710%) and S  0.0281%  (–0.0520%  to  0.1082%).  UV  transmission  values  of  homeopathic  preparations  had  a  significantly  higher  variability  compared  to controls.  In  none of  the samples  the  concentration  of  any  element  analyzed  by  ICP-MS  exceeded  100 ppb.  Lower  transmission  of  UV  light  may  indicate  that  homeopathic  preparations  are  less  structured  or  more  dynamic  than  their  succussed  pure  solvent.

Keywords:     Anthroposophic medicine – chemical properties – homeopathy – optical properties –   physical  properties

Download full paper : www.homeobook.com/pdf/homeopathy-uv-spectroscopy.pdf