Preparation potency in homeopathic remedies

Homeopathic remedies are prepared in a systematic way that ensures their safety and efficacy. The first step in the preparation of a homeopathic remedy is acquiring an original substance, such as a mineral salt or plant tincture ("Understanding Homeopathy Potency," (n.d.). The second step is to systematically dilute the original preparation in a measured and successive way until the desired level of potency is reached. In homeopathy, the process of dilution is called successive or serial dilution because "each dilution is prepared from the dilution that immediately preceded it," ("Preparation of Drugs & Homeopathic Scales of Dilution," 2009). The type of dilutive substance will vary depending on whether the original substance is soluble or insoluble. Soluble substances can be dissolved and diluted in water, alcohol, or glycerin. Insoluble substances can be diluted with lactose.

In addition to serial dilution, the homeopathic remedy will be subject to a kind of vigorous shaking process aided by specialized machinery. The shaking up of the diluted remedy occurs during the processes of succussion or trituration. Succussion refers to "rhythmical violent agitations," by hand or machine ("Preparation of Drugs & Homeopathic Scales of Dilution," 2009). Succussion is used for soluble plant materials that require alcohol and water during the dilution process. Trituration is a "prolonged circular grinding with motar and pestle," used to prepare insoluble substances that need to be diluted with lactose.

Referred to collectively as potentization, the processes of dilution and either succession or trituration together "remove all risk of chemical toxicity while activating a remedy substance and enabling it to affect the body therapeutically," ("Understanding Homeopathy Potency," n.d.). When the potentization process is complete, the resulting substance will be designated a number and a letter, with the number referring to the number of dilution and the letter referring to Roman numerals indicating proportion of the substance used in each stage of dilution. The Roman numeral system is also known as the centesimal scale under the principle that the first potency should contain 1/100th of a part of the original drug, and the second potency would contain 1/100th part of the first potency. Other potentization scales in addition to the centesimal scale include the decimal scale and the millesimal scale. Potentization reveals one of the great ironies of homeopathy: "the more dilutions and succussions a substance undergoes, the higher the potency will be," ("Understanding Homeopathy Potency," n.d.). Because there are no chemical reactions in the body after taking the homeopathic remedies, and because there is no way of effectively measuring the actual amount of the minute dose of the original material in the remedy, science is unable to prove the efficacy of the treatments.

Homeopathic remedies that are potentiated using the decimal scale will generally be the least diluted at 1 portion of substance to 9 portions of solution. The centesimal scale yields a more diluted preparation at 1 to 99 parts solution, and the millesimal scale is the most diluted at 1 to 50,000 parts. The homeopathic preparation then receives a number-letter indication for how many successive dilutions occurred and at what level on the scale. For example, "if the element Sulphur was diluted 1 part to 10 progressively 5 times, the resulting potency would be 5X . . . if the plant substance Cyclamen were diluted 1 to 100 thirty times, the potency would be 30C," (Hoover, 2017).

Finally, the potency of a homeopathic remedy also determines how the remedy is to be administered. Heavily diluted remedies are considered to be the most potent, and will be administered with care and caution. Over the counter remedies that are available at health food and naturopathic stores will be more concentrated remedies that are therefore considered safer to use and with fewer precautions for the method and timing of administration.

References

Hoover, T.A. (2017). Preparing homeopathic remedies. Retrieved online: http://toddhoovermd.com/articles/preparing-homeopathic-remedies.html

"Preparation of Drugs & Homeopathic Scales of Dilution," (2009). HPathy. Retrieved online: http://hpathy.com/pharmacology/preparation-of-drugs-homeopathic-scales-of-dilution/

"Understanding Homeopathy Potency," (n.d.). Michigan Medicine. Retrieved online: http://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-2230000