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Effects of homeopathic dilutions on plants and potential use of homeopathy on plant diseases
... Saxena et al. [28] observed inhibition of 22 genera of fungi associated with okra seed treated with Thuya ocidentalis, Nitric acidum and Sulphur in dynamization 200CH. Betti et al. [29] divided the international works with homeopathy in three groups: germination and growth models, plant pathological assays and field assays, which were classified with respect to positive and negative effects, noting that in most studies the effects of homeopathic drugs were promising for their use in agriculture. In recent years has been found an increase of researches for disease control and studies of metabolic processes in plants treated with homeopathy. ...
Homeopathic science was designed by German physician Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann for over 200 years and it is based mainly in the law of similar (Similia Similibus Curantur). Currently, this science is being used in various segments of agriculture, especially in the area of plant protection. For its contribution on the auto regulation of the soil-plant-atmosphere system, the homeopathy can assist in the maintenance process of the plants health for its tonic effect and/or by inhibition effect directly on the pathological agents. Moreover, homeopathy is a low cost alternative to chemical fungicides, easy to use by farmers and how it is used in high dilutions, presenting an irrelevant environmental impact. So, this review aims to demonstrate the potential of homeopathy as a tool to control plant pathogens and its contribution for a sustainable agriculture.
This research aimed at verifying the efficacy of some homeopathic and mineral treatments on Alternaria brassicicola/cauliflower interaction. Growth chamber experiments and a field trial were performed, using Brassica plants artificially inoculated with the fungus. In growth chamber experiments, infection was significantly reduced by arsenic trioxide 35 decimal potency (As2O3 35 d) and in field trial by both As2O3 35 d and bentonite treatments.
A blind laboratory experiment was carried out to show the effect of a 45x potency of Arsenicum album (As2O3) on wheat seedlings whose seeds had been previously poisoned with a material dose of the same substance. The effect of the homoeopathic treatment on stem growth was statistically significant. The experimental results were matched with a previous study concerning homoeopathic treatment in the same species.
A blind, randomized laboratory trial to study homoeopathic potencies of Arsenicum album on wheat germination is proposed as a simple model which allows a rigorous statistical analysis. The parametric tests show that the differences between the treatment groups cannot be explained as a mere effect of intrinsic seed variability.
This paper describes the statistical analysis of a series of experiments using a simple biological model (wheat germination in vitro), where a large number of wheat seeds were treated with homeopathic potencies of Arsenic trioxide. Some potencies, such as As2O3 40x, 42x and 45x, have repeatedly shown a significant stimulating effect on germination compared to controls, whereas As2O3 35x has a significant inhibiting effect. In some experiments the seeds were stressed before the experiment with a sublethal dose of the same substance. We performed a statistical analysis, both for stressed and non-stressed seed groups, using Poisson distribution as a suitable model for representing the number of non-germinated seeds in a standard experiment with 33 seeds in the same Petri dish. Finally, we have considered the most repeated potencies (30x and 45x), computing the sample odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) for the population OR. Our results show significant reproducible effects of some As2O3 decimal potencies, particularly As2O3 45x. In stressed seeds, even decimal potencies of water seem to give significant results compared to control, whereas high dilutions of As2O3 without potentization never show significant effects.
Most criticism of homeopathy concerns the lack of scientific bases and theoretical models. Fundamental research could make important contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms of action of homeopathic treatments. Plant-based bioassays are suitable for basic research -- lacking the placebo effect and ensuring large data samples for structured statistical analyses.
The aim of this study was to reproduce a previous experiment on the effects of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) high dilutions on wheat seedling growth in order to verify whether the same significant results could be obtained working in a different place and with a different experimental team. A further goal was to investigate high dilution effects on variability.
A structured experiment was performed blind over 9 weeks, using wheat seeds previously stressed with a sublethal dose of As(2)O(3). The seeds were then treated with either potentized As(2)O(3) (5x, 15x, 25x, 35x, 45x), potentized water (equivalent potencies) or diluted As(2)O(3) (10(-5), 10(-15), 10(-25), 10(-35), 10(-45)). The working variable was the stem length, measured after 4, 5, 6 and 7 days.
Some potencies (As(2)O(3) 45x and H(2)O 45x) induced a relevant increase in seedling growth and/or a variability decrease. Diluted As(2)O(3) did not induce any significant results.
Confirmation of a significant stimulating effect on seedling growth and a significant decrease of variability was obtained with ultra-high dilutions at the 45x potency. The model of wheat germination and growth has been confirmed to be a good tool for basic research in homeopathy.
a simple review about plant models and UHD
This research aimed at verifying the efficacy of homeopathic treatments by plant-based bioassays, which may be suitable for basic research, because they lack placebo effects and provide large datasets for statistical analyses.
To evaluate the effects of homeopathic treatments of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on tobacco plants subjected to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) inoculation as biotic stress.
Blind, randomized experiment using tobacco leaf disks.
Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L. cultivar Samsun) carrying the TMV resistance gene N. TMV inoculated leaf disks were floated for 3 days in the following: Distilled water (control). H2O 5 and 45 decimal and centesimal potencies. As2O3 5 and 45 decimal and centesimal potencies. The main outcome measures is the number of hypersensitive lesions observed in a leaf disk.
Homeopathic treatments of arsenic induce two effects on the plant: (i) increased resistance to TMV; (ii) decrease variability between experiments (system variability).
In this experimental model two actions of homeopathic treatment were detected: decrease in system variability and enhancement of the natural tendency of the system towards an 'equilibrium point'.