Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta

Abstract

Trituration and Fractal Dimension in Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia

Kalliantas D, Kassalia ME and Karagianni CHS

For many years now, homeopathy is considered to be an alternative and more physical way of treatment compared to traditional medicine. Though, little has yet been scientifically studied upon the matter. The scope of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the size-shape variations of eight starting Raw Solid Materials (RSM) and the role of trituration in the size-shape of these RSM’s before they are turned into solutions. These materials are used in homeopathy as remedies, after successive grindings, before they are turned into homeopathic solutions. What is more, their fracture surface fractal dimension is investigated. The trituration process will be analyzed, which in homeopathic pharmacology leads to the substances having self-affined fractal structure regardless their type or hardness (metals, minerals, salts, shells, dry plants, etc.), a structure only depending on the size and shape of the powder grains of the starting RSM. The physical meaning of these results is that at the end of the process there is a gradual transformation of the size and shape of the original RSM during the trituration, depending on the physical condition of the materials before grinding them. In this paper, it is proved that, regardless of the starting RSM, the fixed trituration formalism used in Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia leads to a result which depends only on the powder grains size of the starting RSM.