NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2000 Nov / Dec VOL II NO 6.
Dr Prof Ramesh Jain
Introduction: Homoeopathy is a progressive science and requires lot more research on the modern scientific and pathological basis in the field of Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Posology. As regards Posology there are lacunae about the concept of selection of potency and repetition of doses of medicine varies amongst homoeopathic physicians. I dare to put forward my observations on this issue after treating about 20,000 cases in the span of last 20 years using different potencies on the basis of PERIODIC TABLE. I welcome criticism and/or suggestions from the practitioners.
What Is Potency?
Potency of the medicine is the curative power of the drug to alter the state of health i.e. disease producing power. Different drugs have different curative powers and in the same drug different potencies have different curative powers.
As the disease is produced by altered or abnormal concentration of elements and/or their compounds in their ionic potential gradient across the cell membrane in the living tissues, the cure occurs by the same elements and/or their compounds in their protonic potential gradient across the cell membrane in the living tissues. Ionic potential is due to electron present in the atom. Electron has the negative charge in the atom that performs the primary action in the body, which produces the disease.
Proton has the equally positive charge on that atom and produces the secondary counter action i.e. the curative power of the atom. I shall refer to it as the PROTON DYNAMIS. Proton dynamis is liberated during potentisation/dynamisation only after 6 x 10-23 dilution i.e. Avogadro's number by succussion or trituration. Thus crude material or electron dynamis causes the disease and after potentisation or proton dynamis cures the same. This probably can explain modus operandi of the homoeopathic cure i.e. SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURENTUR. The curative power in each atom depends on the atomic numbers or the protons present in its nucleus.
Sources for Homoeopathic medicines are plants, animals, minerals, nosodes, sarcodes and imponderabilia. Potencies are prepared from mother tincture (Q), extract from plant and animals, crude substances of chemicals etc, by process of trituration and succussion. Potencies are prepared in different scales and are as follows:
- Decimal scale (1:10 dilution): 3X, 6X, 12X, 30X, 200X, etc. (by Dr. Hering)
- Centesimal scale (1:100 dilution): 3, 6, 12, 30, 200, 1000 (1M), 10,000 (10M), 50,000 (50M), 100,000 (CM), 1,000,000 (MM), etc.
- 50 Millesimal scale (1:50,000 dilution): LM Potency. 0/1, 0/2, 0/3, etc. (Centesimal and 50 Millesimal scale introduced by Dr. Hahnemann). Suffix used after number is in Roman words and it denotes the scale used. For eg., in Decimal scale 3X, 6X,......; in Centesimal scale 3C or 3, 6C or 6.....etc.
- Low potency: Physiological or ionic doses i.e. Less than 10-24 dilution. Potencies less than 30X, < 12 and 0/1, 0/2, 0/3 of 50 Millesimal scale.
- Medium potency: 30, 200, less than 1M and 0/4, 0/5, 0/6.....of 50 Millesimal scale.
- High potency: 1000 (1M) and above 1000 (1M) potencies.
Total liberation of dynamic energy of the potency = energy liberated from the breaking down of bond between electron and proton + kinetic energy liberated during number of trituration / succussion.
Therefore more the trituration / succussion in dilution, there will be more dynamic energy in that dilution/potency.
In this process of dynamisation,
- dilution up to 10-24 the crude material of larger size is made into small size particles thereby increasing the surface area of medicinal crude substance. This also reduces the toxicity of the substance.
- The amount of energy liberated from an atom of the medicine after 10-24 dilution = Energy liberated from breaking of number of electron proton bond (a constant and specific energy, which is inherent energy in each atom) + Kinetic energy or mechanical energy liberated by the process of dynamisation. Alfa, beta, gamma particles are liberated from proton as we go for more dynamisation.
Limitation Of Dynamisation: Each substance in its atom has certain fixed amount of inherent curative power, which is present in the nucleus and electrostatic force between electron and proton. Once it is fully liberated no more energy can be liberated from that substance, no matter whatever amount of triturations / successions are carried out.
Comparison of Potencies in drug strength and tritu / suc carried out in each potency:
|Decimal||Centesimal||50 Millesimal scale|
|1X = 1x10-1
= 10-1 drug strength
1 hour trituration
|1C = 1X100
= 10-2 drug strength
|0/1 = 8C = 16X =
= 10-16 drug strength
|2X = 1x 10-2
= 10-2 drug strength
2 hour trituration
|2C = 1x 100-1 x 100-1
= 10-4 drug strength
|0/2 = 10C = 20X
= 10-20 drug strength
|3X = 1x 10-3
=10-3 drug strength
3 hour trituration
|3C = 1 x 10-6
=10-6 drug strength
|0/3 = 12C = 24X
= 10-24 drug strength
|4X = 1x 10-4
= 10-4 drug strength
4 hour trituration
| 4C = 1x10-8
= 10-8 drug strength
|0/4 = 14C = 28X
= 10-28 drug strength
|6X = 1 x 10-6
It means 6X = 3C potency
|6C = 1 x 10-12||0/4, 0/5, 0/6.... Are
From the potency of medicine we understand:
- Speed of action of medicine.
- Depth of action of medicine.
- Duration of action of medicine.
Depth Of Action: Depth of action on physical plane is inversely proportional to the potency of medicine. It means as potency increases depth of action decreases. Depth of action of medicine increases with increase in atomic number in the metals in same group and decreases as the atomic number increases in the non-metals in the same group.
Duration Of Action: Duration of action of the potency depends on physical nature, insolubility and life span of an atom. Ions have longer duration of action while dynamic energy has shorter duration of action. Water-soluble medicines have short duration of action whereas water insoluble medicine has longer duration of action. Half-life of atom is given in encyclopedia of chemistry after which the action declines.
Duration of action of the medicine is directly proportional to increase in atomic number in metals in the same group and inversely proportional to increase in atomic number in the non-metals in the same group.