Towards a Rational Insight into the Paradox of Homeopathy
Today, despite non-recognition and even opposition by scientific and medical institutions, homeopathy is the most widely used form of alternative medicine in the world and its efficacy remains a subject of controversy.
Abstract
Biological efficacy of infinitesimally diluted substances is still controversial. However, homeopathic remedies are manufactured through an iterative dilution/dynamization procedure which induces collateral phenomena, especially nanobubbles and release of silica from the glass container. Our own NMR studies and a review of the literature show that dilutions could contain much more molecules than expected, moreover in nanoparticulate forms which increase with dilution. Dilution/dynamization beyond a threshold of 10-6-10-8 generates superstructures associated with the solute, which grow at each step by affixing layers of nanobubbles and silica, or by self-assembly. Sizes from 1-2nm to hundreds of nanometers could be demonstrated by electron microscopy. Dynamization appears crucial, by producing specific superstructures (distinguishable according to the dissolved substance), and inducing paradoxical biological effects. Superstructures are neither observed without dynamization nor at low dilution, where even a paradoxical chaotropic effect on the solvent is observed by NMR. Thus, a dual structure of the homeopathic medicine is highlighted. We postulate that dynamization and nanobubbles ensure formation, stereospecificity, growth and transfer of superstructures across dilutions.