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How much homoeopathic drug is safe? – A study

Due to huge variation in chemical component used in homoeopathy as therapeutic agent in day to day practice by homoeopaths, a study has been conducted to investigate safety of drug in the acute, subacute, and chronic oral toxicity of different homoeopathic drugs (Ferrum phosphoricum 3X, Ferrum phosphoricum 6X, Calcarea phosphoricum 6X, and Magnesium phosphoricum 6X) in experimental models.  For the toxicity assessment 2000mg/kg body weight homoeopathic drug is administrated orally and animals were observed for 10 days for any toxic symptoms as per the OECD guidelines for the acute cases. For subacute and chronic toxicity for 28 days & 180 days homoeopathic drug is administrated. After the administration of 28 and 180 days the animals were sacrificed and toxicity parameters were assessed. Lab investigation was also performed to find any toxicity. Through the study it has come to know that there was no acute toxic effect at a dose of 2000mg/kg it means that LD₅₀ (LD₅₀ is the amount of a material, given all at once, which causes the death of 50% of a group of test animals)of homoeopathic drug is more than 2000mg/kg. There was no change in haematological and biochemical parameters in both male and female rats after administration of drugs at a dose of 70 mg/kg body weight for 28 and 180 days in comparison with normal control group. It is concluded from the study that these homoeopathic drugs are safe even if used longer period of time.

Reference: Surender Singh, Prerna Kalra, Ritu Karwasra, Anil Khurana, Raj K. Manchanda, Yogendra Kumar Gupta, Safety studies of homoeopathic drugs in acute, sub‑acute and chronic toxicity in rats, Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy, Volume 11, Issue 1, January-March 2017